Showrunners Felt Pressured To Change Who Negan Kills In The Walking Dead Premiere

With The Walking Dead's seventh season premiering this weekend, there's been intense speculation over which character Negan is going to kill. Some think it will be Glenn, since that's what happens in the comics, according to Moviefone. Others think a promotional clip points to Abraham. Then, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan appeared to throw a curveball, saying there would be multiple deaths (though he later said his words were misinterpreted). Robert Kirkman, writer of the comic books and executive producer of the show, told The Hollywood Reporter that he and showrunner Scott M. Gimple found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Some fans are hoping the show will stay true to the comics, he explained, while others want to be surprised. "The challenge has been expanding the scale of the show up and being true to the source material and opening up this world in way that I strongly feel will set the stage for many season to come," he said. "Season 7 as a whole will have so many new environments, so many new characters, and so many new scenarios that it will almost seem like season 1 of an entirely different show. It'll have all the stuff you love from The Walking Dead, but this isn't a show where you're ever going to be, 'Oh my god, am I still watching this show in season 7? Enough is enough, I get it.'" So, it sounds like this season in particular won't be rigidly adhering to the comics — which means we still don't have much information about who's going to bite the dust at Negan's hands. We'll find out when The Walking Dead returns to AMC this Sunday, October 23 at 9 p.m.