'Fear's Lennie James Thought Morgan Would Be Killed Off 'The Walking Dead'

Before he learned his long-time The Walking Dead character was going to make the jump to spinoff Fear The Walking Dead, Morgan actor Lennie James thought the character was going to be killed off.

"It was in my mind when [then-Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple] phoned me up," James told The Telegraph.

"We'd already had our meeting, which we have at the start of each season, where he talks to the regular actors about what their arc is going to be. And then Scott called and said, 'Can we meet again? There's something I forgot to talk to you about.' And at that point I obviously thought that the thing he forgot to talk about was that Morgan was going to die in season eight of The Walking Dead."

In Robert Kirkman's comic book series, Morgan had long died before Negan and the Saviors ever came across Rick Grimes and Alexandria.

With TV Morgan having already outlived his comic book counterpart, James believed it was the end — instead, the actor was offered a new beginning.

"It's always there. It's always a possibility," James said of being killed off on a zombie series.

"The few days before we met…I 'd be lying if I didn't say I'd kind of reconciled myself — and justified to myself — why Morgan's time was done," James said.

"He'd had a good innings — survived longer in the show than in the comic books. It wasn't necessarily the thing I was wishing for. But you are constantly thinking, 'do I want to do more? Where is this taking my character?' I'm very proud of my work on The Walking Dead and the position Morgan holds for fans."

When he found out Gimple wanted to move him across the country over to Fear The Walking Dead, "it was like my head exploded," James said. "That was the last thing I expected."

The flagship series and its spinoff had always shared the same world, but bringing the two series together was unprecedented.

Gimple's planned crossover was only ever going to happen with Morgan, but James didn't accept the gig right away.

"It took me a long while to figure out whether or not it was the right move for me, the right move for Morgan, and the right move for the franchise," James explained.

"Talking to all the right people: friends, family, other members of the cast and [Fear season 4 showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg] about 17 times, I came to the position that I like a challenge. I like to be surprised. This is certainly a challenge and surprise. It's a unique opportunity for me as an actor and me as a character."

Morgan left the Kingdom behind in the final episode of The Walking Dead season 8, leaving Virginia entirely and making his way to Texas in the Fear The Walking Dead season 4 premiere.

The newcomer wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms: Morgan and new allies John (Garret Dillahunt) and Althea (Maggie Grace) have found themselves held at gunpoint by a pack of Fear regulars, Clark siblings Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Nick (Frank Dillane), and Luciana (Danay Garcia) and Strand (Colman Domingo).

Fear The Walking Dead airs its second episode of season 4, "Another Day in the Diamond," tonight at 9/8c on AMC.