The Walking Dead Star Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says Season 10 Finale Was “Impossible” to Finish

The entertainment industry has effectively been shutdown because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and shows like The Walking Dead had to wrap up early, just before the Season 10 finale could air on AMC. The reason for the delay was ill timed, as the rest of the episodes were finished and the series didn’t provide the epic return of Lauren Cohan’s Maggie that had been promised. The episode directed by Greg Nicotero will still air later this year as a special episode, though there’s no word yet on when it will actually arrive. And while fans might be disappointed, The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan said “it’s impossible” for the episode to be finished in these current conditions.

“When I heard the news that we weren’t able to air it for obvious reasons, they just couldn’t get the crew together to do post work,” said Morgan, who plays the fan-favorite character Negan, during a recent interview with TooFab. “It sucks, it’s impossible. That being said, it gives us fans something to look forward to in a couple months, which is super cool.”

Nicotero previously noted the process, involving visual effects, music, sound mixing, and sound effects, typically lasts up to three weeks before an episode’s air date. The director and executive producer promised the delayed season finale “will not disappoint.”

“So disappointed that it came to this but we have to keep our teams protected,” Aaron McLane, visual effects supervisor on The Walking Dead since Season 9, tweeted in response to news the season would conclude at a later date. “When COVID hit many of the studios had to slow down so their employees would be safe. We will deliver a great finale ASAP. Post production usually goes on for months after filming wraps. That’s editing, VFX, music, sound design, color correction, and delivery. We work on an episode up to a few weeks before air. The finale will be amazing but we had to prioritize safety.”

Showrunner Angela Kang later told ComicBook.com work on the finale was “very, very close” to finishing when the post-production process was left in limbo.

“We usually deliver the episodes for a big effects-heavy episode about two weeks before we air. We were about a week and a half out at the point which California shut down,” Kang said. “What is continuing remotely is the effects that can be finished, but even after all of that’s done, all the shots need to be laid in. There’s a color process that needs machines to be finished. There’s sound work that we usually do on the Warner Brothers stage, and that’s very complex mixing equipment that you can’t just move into somebody’s house overnight. And multiple people work on that.”

She continued, “So we’re very, very close to finishing. I think actually, by the time the world is safe for people to start venturing out, probably all of the effects will be done, and then it’s just a handful of processes and it can be turned around very, very quickly. We’re very hopeful that we can get it all done very rapidly once we’re back up and running.”

Scripting work on Season 11, which may not meet its expected October 2020 premiere date, is continuing remotely.

“I do not know when we get to go back to work. I suppose we can do an episode via Skype,” Morgan told TooFab of his new at-home talk show airing on AMC, Friday Night In With the Morgans, hosted with wife Hilarie Burton Morgan. “I’ll see if Angela can write an episode and we’ll get the whole cast together on our show.”

The Walking Dead next airs “A Certain Doom” as a special episode later this year. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.