Fear the Walking Dead: Lennie James On Whether Morgan Is Dead or Alive

Fear the Walking Dead actor Lennie James plays Morgan Jones, one of the franchise’s longest-running characters, having first appeared in the premiere episode of The Walking Dead. James teased that “maybe Morgan’s time is up — maybe it isn’t” after the character was shot by Virginia (Colby Minifie) in Fear the Walking Dead‘s fifth season finale. “End of the Line” ended just as a group of walkers began closing in on Morgan, who was scarce in the Season 6 trailer with his bloodshot eyes popping open after Virginia’s attempt to kill him. Morgan’s fate is left unresolved at this point.

James “couldn’t possibly comment” on whether Morgan lived or died, telling NME, “He is a survivor, but in this universe, as it’s been proven over and over again on both The Walking Dead and Fear… anybody’s time can be called.”

“There have been a number of characters that people have said ‘oh, that character can’t die, they’ll be there forever’ and then they’ve gone. Rick and Carl are good examples of that,” James added of the late Carl (Chandler Riggs) and the missing Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). “Nothing’s guaranteed, but maybe Morgan’s time is up — maybe it isn’t. Hopefully we’ll get to see the new season of Fear… and see how that plays out.”

The new season of Fear was still being filmed when coronavirus forced AMC to shut down production. James’ co-star Danay García previously revealed Season 6 could premiere in August, even if the season begins airing while some of its episodes remain unfinished.

James and showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg have played coy about Morgan’s fate, but James confirmed he filmed on the sixth season that will shift its storytelling in the direction of more self-contained episodes putting a focus on one or just a handful of characters at a time.

Whether or not Morgan lives to see them again, James hopes Morgan’s crew — Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), John (Garret Dillahunt), Victor (Colman Domingo), Dwight (Austin Amelio), Grace (Karen David), and others — are one day able to reunite after being forcibly separated by Virginia and the Pioneers.

“In Season 6 I don’t know if my character will make it through,” James said on a past episode of Talking Dead. “When he first arrived in Texas, it was a man who wanted to get away from people. And now it’s a man who feels real love, responsibility and pride in a group of people that he wants to be around and he wants to call them his own. My hope for six is that they find a way of being back together.”

Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 premieres this summer on AMC. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.