The Walking Dead: Andrew Lincoln Gives Jeffrey Dean Morgan His Blessing

Until now, The Walking Dead has undoubtedly been a story centered around Rick Grimes, his family, and the survival of those around him.

In the final 10 minutes of the show's sixth season, that all changed. Negan burst into the world of The Walking Dead, flipped it on its head, and will be taking center stage when the AMC series returns next month. In fact, based on the marketing, trailers, and photos so far, we might as well start calling it, "The Negan Show."

With such an important role coming into play, Jeffrey Dean Morgan steps in to fill the biggest shoes on television. He's not replacing anybody's previous efforts as Negan, but instead, he's all but replacing Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes as the center of The Walking Dead. The character has become an icon through almost 60 issues of appearances in comics and merely 12 minutes of screen time on television.

Of course, for such a torch to be passed, Lincoln has to approve - and he does.

"It's such a great part and it's so beautifully written," says Lincoln of Negan. "And he's such an important part of the show, this character, that we needed an actor that could step up and take the bull by the horns and drag it forward, and make it his own. And certainly, that's what we have this season."

"I think everybody got a sense of what this actor is capable of in the last episode. But rest assured that that's really just the beginning of what Jeffrey is creating. It's very impressive and it's great fun to work with him."

The Walking Dead returns for its seventh season on October 23 at 9 PM ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

(via EW)