The Unbelievable Secrecy Behind Lennie James' Return To 'The Walking Dead'
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Planning Ahead
Though the writers of The Walking Dead always wanted to bring Morgan back into the fold, as fans of the comics already knew, there was no way to know if the show would make it far enough to call for such a moment.
"It's strange," James said. "When I did the first episode we had no idea what the show was going to be. We didn't even know that there was going to be a second season. The conversation I remember having with Gale [Anne Hurd] actually was, 'You know, we don't know if we're get a second season.'"
James recalled that "everything was vampires" at the time of The Walking Dead's series premiere in 2010, and they were about to unleash zombies on the world.
"We were coming in and not being vampires and it wasn't that people weren't confident in what we were doing or weren't committed to what we were doing, or passionate about it or had faith in it, it's just that there was no guarantee," James said. "And you know, AMC weren't what AMC have kind of become. No one was in the position that they now are where they can look back and go, 'yes, of course we knew.' They didn't. They didn't have any bloody idea, and if they say they did they're lying. "
"So the conversation was like, 'I don't know whether or not we're going to get a second one, but if we do, your character kind of comes back in the source material,'" James added. "It wasn't a contractual thing so it was a bit like, you know, 'if it happens we'd really like you to come back.' So it was there almost from the beginning. But I didn't believe them."
Years later, here's The Walking Dead, marching to its 100th episode with Lennie James on its poster.
prevnextReaching 100
James is as excited as anyone else to be a part of such a monstrous series reaching the epic milestone with its Season Eight premiere.
"I didn't know that we'd make it to episode 100 until I got the script the other day," James joked.
"The first sign I had that something was going on, because I did the first episode and then I was gone, so I didn't even finish the first season," James explained, "The first sign that I kind of got from it was I'd be in kind of press meetings like this on other jobs that I was doing, and somebody at some point more than once, and more than one person in the group would kind of go, 'So you going back to The Walking Dead?' And I was like, 'I don't know. Am I?' And it became a question that just kept on being asked, people kept on asking about the show."
Still in touch with Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln, James caught up with his co-star early on to talk about the title becoming a phenomenon.
"So, I think either I phoned Andy or Andy phoned me, or we texted each other, and my question was, 'What the hell is going on over there?'" James recalled. "And he was kind of going, 'I think the show is kind of taking off, and when are you coming back?' And then it just became a when are you coming back thing for a season and a half."
prevnextMore Walking Dead
Thursday's episode of ComicBook NOW took fans to the set of The Walking Dead with exclusive cast and crew interviews. To watch, click here!
The Walking Dead's sibling series Fear the Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9 pm ET on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season on October 22, 2017. The Season Eight premiere will mark 100 episodes overall for the popular AMC series. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.
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