Last month came word that ‘The Walking Dead’ was casting a new criminal named “Orin” whose description sounded an awful lot like that of notorious comic book heavy Negan.

This was the description:

“an imposing, charismatic, brutal, frightening, ferocious and hilarious sociopath in his 30s to mid 40s that is both a leader (and killer) of men.”

This followed an earlier casting call for “Rich” which read:

“A fiftysomething narcissist who has an angry streak, a Senator-like charm and the charisma of a car salesman.”

“Orin” is currently planned to appear in Season 6 episode 16, the finale, but is expected to return in Season 7 potentially as a series regular.  At least at first, “Rich” sounded like it could be Negan, except for the age discrepancy.  Negan is younger than “fiftysomething” but that doesn’t necessarily make the role out of the question, considering that Andrea and Carol are/were older on the show than they were in the comics.

With the second casting listing, it seems more likely that the first was actually for the part of Gregory, leader of the Hilltop settlement, although the “charm” and “charisma” are a bit generous considering what a weak coward the character was in the comics.

When questioned about the similarity between the description for “Orin” and Negan, showrunner Scott M. Gimple replied:

“I can neither confirm nor deny.  It’s not the worst guess in the world. It’s difficult to get around your logic here.”

Gimple and members of the cast were on hand at NYCC to answer some questions regarding the upcoming season, which kicks off on Sunday.  You can watch the interview below:

Are you ready for Negan to make his entrance in the show?  What else would you like to see in Season 6?  Comment below!

Source: TV Line