Exclusive: The Walking Dead's Aaron Talks Alexandria Community And Negan

So, Rick and company have evaluated Aaron and decided to check out Alexandria. Earlier this week, Ross Marquand, who plays Aaron on The Walking Dead, took part in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com to discuss the events of the television series up to episode 11 of season 5.

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Does Aaron have any kick-ass abilities? Rick has the revolver, Daryl has the crossbow, Michonne has the sword… Does Aaron have any special weapon of choice or ability we can expect to see?

I can't say too much about that, but you can certainly expect to see some of his skill sets in the near future, hopefully. There's more than meets the eye with Aaron. He comes across as this really humble, very nice guy, boy scout type, but he's also lived out in this world like the group has. He has had a lot more safety, you know, having the community to rely on that he has, but ultimately, he's seen quite a bit of action himself and he knows handle to handle himself.

Why did he get so scared when he saw the flare? I'm assuming Eric shot it off, but what's the deal with the flares?

We worked it out in our minds, and I think this is how it was described in the script, but those flares are only used in the most dire circumstances. If you're seeing a flare, it means things have gone horribly wrong, past the point of "let's stop being diplomatic and nice here, this is when the plan ends." When you see that flare you run towards it as fast as possible. For Aaron, once he sees that, I think it's clear that Eric is in danger. His nice guy persona and plan to be sweet and nice to the group and usher them…. His safety just goes right out the window. He says, "well, plan is over! I gotta go!" He's willing to risk his own life, you know? Run out with his hands tied and run off to go find his boyfriend.

Yeah, he hit Michonne with that door and he took off.

Yeah, that was a pretty intense scene to shoot.

What's beyond that gate? Are we going to meet Douglas Monroe? What's in store for the group? Can you tell me?

I can't, unfortunately, speak to that. Mr. Gimple would kill me, you know that.

True. He might actually.

Yeah, he could actually do that, so I want to watch my words! I think comic book fans will be surprised and happy with what they see. You know, I don't want to speak too much to that, because as a fan, too, I want to be surprised. I think there's a lot of preconceived notions about who Aaron is and what this community might be, but ultimately, you know, that's going to be up to the fans to decide where their allegiances lie.

Sure, yeah, I know we're going to see more human to human conflict which really drives the show. Has Aaron done this recruiting before?

He has.

Are we going to see him do it in the future?

I think there's a distinct possibility of that, but I think right now the real focus moving forward for the next few episodes is about how Rick and his group will assimilate or not to this new community. That's really gonna be the thrust of the story moving forward. Is this place, this haven, all that it's been cracked up to be?

How long was Aaron following the group before introducing himself?

That was never really expressly laid out in the scripts. We kind of decided we were probably following them for at least a week or two. I think to get a good sense of who people are and whether or not they're right for what they believe is the kind of energy they're trying to create in the community. They probably would've watched them for a good amount of time, especially since there are 15 of them. It's important that he really gauges where the power hierarchy lays and also how well people get along- especially in times of real struggle when they're lives are in danger. He's got a pretty good sense of who they are now at this point after watching them for a while and believes they're worth talking to. I'm sure there's other groups he's stumbled upon and didn't have the same reaction to and probably ran in the other direction as fast as he can.

What about Negan? I'm sure you know who Negan is.

I do, just from having read the comics now. I wish I could speak to that and the only reason why I'm not is because I know nothing about that and that is the God's honest truth. I have no idea where or if he is coming into the show. As a new fan of the comics I certainly hope he makes an appearance. He's such a vile, twisted character. I would love to see him, but there's been… at least as far as I know. I'm the new guy, the low man on the totem pole, I'm not in the writer's room and privy to those discussions, but I really hope they do bring that character on because that would just take the show to a whole new, even more twisted, disturbing level.

Yeah, I think it may be a while, probably, because it was about 30 issues of the series at the Safe-Zone before Negan came around. I wonder how they can do that character on cable.

Yeah, how do you do that on basic cable without pushing the line too far? That's a really good question.

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So, no word on Negan just yet, at least for Marquand. We can take away that Aaron is good guy, though. Marquand is extremely into his character, Aaron, who is more than just a boy scout. I'm looking forward to learning more about him, are you?

I also had the chance to talk to Marquand about his experience joining the cast, comic books, and how he feels about introducing a homosexual character on a show like The Walking Dead. You can read that right here.