‘The Walking Dead’s Ryan Hurst Teases Jeffrey Dean Morgan About Beta and Negan’s Future

Just one day after being announced as the newest member of The Walking Dead Season 9 cast, Ryan Hurst is already fitting right in as part of the family.

On Monday, news broke that the former Sons of Anarchy star had been cast as Beta, the villainous Whisperer, in the upcoming season of The Walking Dead. Quickly after the announcement, Negan himself, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, took to Twitter to share his excitement for Hurst’s casting.

The Walking Dead cast members have long been known to joke around with one another on social media, and Hurst quickly picked up on the pattern. His response to Morgan’s excitement was perfect, especially considering how evil both of their characters actually are.

Hurst replied to Morgan’s tweet with a picture of the ending of Casablanca, where Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Louis Renault (Claude Rains) are standing side-by-side in the fog. Along with the photo, Hurst wrote, “Jeffrey, I think this is the beginning…”

Of course, the message is alluding to the line spoken by Bogart in Casablanca. In the scene, Rick says, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Hurst is most likely alluding to the fact that both Negan and Beta are major villains on The Walking Dead, and the fact that it’s Negan that gives Beta rule over the Whisperers in the first place. In the comics, the Whisperers are initially led by a powerful woman named Alpha, and Beta is her second-in-command. However, Negan ends up decapitating Alpha as a gesture of good faith to Rick, a decision which ends up putting Beta in power.

Morgan took the Casablanca reference even further, replying to Hurst once more. “I believe you are correct,” he wrote. “Here’s looking at you kid.”

The Walking Dead will return for its ninth season in the fall. Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC, and returned for the second half of its fourth season on Aug. 12. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.