Ever since news dropped of the spinoff series, The Walking Dead: Dead City, which will feature Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they traverse New York City, fans have been wondering how the pair wound up separated from the main group.
In addition to this, there has been plenty of chat about the pair will behave with each other as they have a long and devastating history together.
Initially, Negan was introduced to The Walking Dead as the terrible leader of the Saviors and was partial to bashing in the heads of people just to make sure everyone toed the line in his community.
Then, he killed Maggie’s husband, Glenn (Steven Yuen), in this manner, and the pair has been at loggerheads ever since.
This was somewhat resolved by the conclusion of The Walking Dead, but it looks set to still be bubbling away below the surface when the pair tackle Manhattan in the new TV show.
In fact, Negan is set to return to some old behaviors, which will, no doubt, cause conflict for Maggie.
Expect the old version of Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City
If you thought Maggie and Negan traveling through Manhattan would be a cakewalk, think again.
According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, viewers can expect to see Negan falling back into his old ways.
“Negan has an opportunity to kind of fall into some old habits because it’s all a survival mechanism for him,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan revealed.
This will be, in part, because Negan has separated from the main group. At the end of Season 11 of The Walking Dead, Negan was seen leaving the community, and it is revealed in Dead City that he has left to establish a family with his wife, Annie (Medina Senghore).
However, because Negan is now away from the very people that reminded him every day of just how bad he can become, it is easier for him to slip into darker places once more.
“The group kind of tamed him in a lot of ways, and to fit in, he had to stop being who he was. And I think away from this group, he is likely to fall into some old traps and old behaviors.”
Negan’s old ways will cause conflict for Maggie
As to be expected, with Negan acting up, this will most definitely impact Maggie.
While the duo formed an uneasy alliance in the final episodes of The Walking Dead, the pair will never be firm friends, and this will definitely be explored further in Dead City.
“As uneasy of an alliance it is that Maggie and Negan have, I think Negan being out of Maggie’s line of sight for a couple years is still never going to make what happened for her go away,” Morgan explained.
The Walking Dead: Dead City will be set a few years after the close of Season 11 of The Walking Dead. This means that when the pair finally does meet up and with Negan falling into old habits, there will be a definite conflict there.
“I don’t know if [Maggie and Negan] getting along in any way is going to last. I don’t know if it can,” Morgan added.
As to how this all plays out remains to be seen, and viewers will have to wait for the premiere in order to find out more.
The Walking Dead: Dead City will premiere in April on AMC and AMC+ in 2023.