The Walking Dead: Khary Payton Reveals Where King Ezekiel Has Been

King Ezekiel has been absent from AMC‘s The Walking Dead since his introductory episode concluded in the second week of Season 7.

The leader of the Kingdom will return to television on Sunday night with The Walking Dead’s midseason 7 premiere but a considerable amount of time has past since we last saw the King. Speaking to ComicBook.com in an exclusive interivew, Ezekiel actor Khary Payton revealed where his character has been in the mean time.

“He’s been sleeping in bed, curled up with his tiger,” Payton joked. “

He’s been governing as best he can, and trying to win Carol’s trust, I guess, is one thing that he’s been trying to do, and keep this tepid alliance going with the Saviors,” Payton said.

The return will come with Rick Grimes’ attempt to gain Ezekiel and his Kingdom as allies in the upcoming war with Negan. Unlike Alexandria, though, the Kingdom has not seen the horrors committed by the Saviors and have, instead, managed to maintain a mostly peaceful relationship.

“I think at this point he feels relatively good about his stance,” Payton said. “He knows that he’s got trouble on the border, but it’s not boiled over into anything yet. He’s doing a good job of keeping his people out of harm’s way, I guess.”

Rick is going to have some work to do in convincing Ezekiel to join the war. It all starts when The Walking Dead returns for the rest of its seventh season.

MORE THE WALKING DEAD:

Michael Cudlitz Reveals How He Learned Negan Would Kill Abraham / Katelyn Nacon Reveals Glenn’s Impact On Enid / How Tom Payne Plans To Make Negan Look Stupid / The Epic Pet Daryl Dixon Might Have / Season 7 Finale Cliffhanger? / Who Dies In Rock In The Road? / Ross Marquand On The Most Ambitious Episode

The Walking Dead returns for the rest of its seventh season on February 12 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead‘s third season does not yet have a premiere date but with The Walking Dead finale set for April 2, expectations for Fear‘s return are set for April 9. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.