The Walking Dead Fan Poll Picks Negan for Prequel Story

The Walking Dead fans have voted Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as the character they most want to see lead a prequel story told in a feature film or mini-series. Creators Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard unfurled Negan's backstory in comic book form over the 16-part Here's Negan, taking place during the onset of the zombie apocalypse, revealing how the foul-mouthed former high school gym coach went from lone survivor to leader of a sizable group that would come to be known as the Saviors. Negan's history has only been referenced in past episodes of The Walking Dead, where Negan has confided in characters like Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Alpha (Samantha Morton).

In a poll conducted on the unofficial Walking Dead Reddit page, Negan was the preferred choice for a prequel followed by the Governor (David Morrissey) and Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz). In fourth place was King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), followed by Juanita Sanchez (Paola Lázaro), a.k.a. Princess, and Whisperer Beta (Ryan Hurst).

Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple has already teased plans to bring back past characters for a peek at the early zombie apocalypse, possibly for short form series that air as mini episodes. Morrissey hopes to reprise his role as Philip Blake in an origin story inspired by a series of Walking Dead novels while Cudlitz has hinted at his own return to the Walking Dead Universe.

Morgan has already confirmed his interest in a feature film based on material from Here's Negan, and the star recently expressed a desire for a second feature film inspired by one-shot comic book Negan Lives.

"Robert Kirkman has done a little bit of thought on Negan pre-zombie apocalypse, and I would be more than happy to see that," Morgan said in a 2018 interview. "I would like to take part in some filming of that. I think that would help explain this character a great deal. Because, unfortunately, the way things go with so many characters and storylines, we don't see enough — and I think that that is needed, especially when you have a character like Negan."

First at bat is Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who will headline his own feature film trilogy taking place after his ninth season disappearance from The Walking Dead.

Negan returns in The Walking Dead Season 10 finale, "A Certain Doom," premiering Sunday, October 4 on AMC. For all things The Walking Dead, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.