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The Walking Dead Season 11 & Beyond: Some Thoughts on Negan's Future

With three weeks to go until AMC's The Walking Dead returns for Part 2 of its 11th & final season (with new episodes premiering early on AMC+ all season long) and in honor of tonight's episode of The Walking Dead: Origins focusing on Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan, we've been thinking about the complex ex-Saviors leader's future heading into the series' final episodes and what could lay ahead for his future. As we've seen from the previously-released official trailer for Part 2, our survivors are going to have a life post-Leah (Lynn Collins) and the Reapers… and that future road leads to the Commonwealth's Gov. Pamela Milton (Laila Robins), Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton), Mercer (Michael James Shaw), and the others from the massive & mysterious community. So what's this mean for the main man? Well, we have some thoughts- in this case, five to be precise. Now just to be clear? This is based on the assumption that Negan lives to the end of the series (we're assuming he does), and we would be remiss if we didn't say for the record that the upcoming Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) movies and the threads to and from that are starting to grow could wipe all of the playing pieces off the board.

"Man of the People": Could the Commonwealth be exactly the "leadership" that Negan needs? Could still oversee people, enact policy, and make changes, but it would happen in the middle of a much bigger & more organized structure that could keep his "Saviors" impulses in check. I mean, minus what would appear to be the ability to kick some serious ass as Negan can, is Lance coming across any more trustworthy or less sleazy than Negan was? This could be the kind of thing that would allow him to keep his promise to Lucille to be a better version of himself while sharing what he has to offer with others.

Happily Ever After? Who's to say that Negan can't be in the middle of whatever series-ending battle is taking place and then he just meets someone nice, maybe there's a kid or two in the mix, and he gets a job and settles down. I know that may not be a "sexy" future for Morgan's on-screen counterpart, but it would be a nice one (and one that we think he's earned at this point). I mean, we do see him twice with Medina Senghore's character in the trailer so maybe?

Suffer for His Sins: If there's one concern you should always have about a bad person going on a redemption arc is that a ton of times that road to be redeeming usually ends with their death. If that's the case, then what direction would they go? Maybe our theory about Norman Reedus' Daryl going the route Rick went in the comics is wrong and Negan becomes the sacrifice that leads to a commitment to a better society. Of course, he could also end up sacrificing himself to save Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Hershel (Kien Michael Spiller), or Judith (Cailey Fleming) at some point, too. Personally, we don't think Negan did anything in the context of the TWDU that he hasn't done enough to redeem himself for… we're just not sure we're in the majority.

"MEgan"? "MaGan"? "Naggie"? "Nagaggie"? Of course, there is also the intriguing & ironic possibility that Negan and Maggie… I'M KIDDING! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Because this would be a horribly bad idea on par with both endings of Showtime's Dexter. You want to have them learn to move beyond the past? You want him to end up some kind of mentor to Hershel? I'm with you on both fronts, especially because the latter would make for a fascinating confrontation moment when Hershel learns what Negan did to his father. But that's it. Nothing more than that. No kissing. No hand-holding. No teasing glances. So if that's what anyone's thinking? Please stop. Thank you.

"You Know, Like Caine in 'Kung Fu.' Walk from Place to Place": So who's to say that we need to give Negan an ending? Maybe just like what's planned for Daryl and Carol (Melissa McBride), Negan may just decide to move on so he can establish his own future on his own terms. Leaving his story open-ended like that makes his continuing story still viable for a spinoff, a run on Tales of the Walking Dead, or in the previously-mentioned Rick Grimes films.

The Walking Dead returns with many of our heroes fighting imminent hellfire under Reaper attack; while others battle Mother Nature's torrential wrath in Alexandria. For all, their world is literally crashing down around them. Meanwhile, life in the Commonwealth is not as idyllic as it seems. For some, hope will be renewed. Others will be pushed past the point of no return. One truth holds tight: Lives hang in the balance with each decision drastically changing their future, their chances of survival, and the state of each community.

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