Most of the time when ‘The Walking Dead‘ loses a cast member, it is due to death but executive producer Greg Nicotero isn’t sure how to feel about Lennie James leaving the show. For starters, he’s clearly still going to be alive and kicking when he arrives in the upcoming season of ‘Fear the Walking Dead‘ so we know that he survives the current “All Out War” story arc.
Nicotero reveals:
“When Lennie [James] moved over to the other show, we had a really great conversation and the last day of shooting in Georgia, I hugged him, and we got a little emotional, just about everything that we’ve been through over the last eight years. I feel like Lennie is part responsible for the success of The Walking Dead.”
How saying goodbye to James differed from other cast members:
“It certainly was different. It’s an exciting time. But also, we have to process the characters that we lose and then question, okay, who’s filling that spot? Who’s filling this spot? Our cast, since the beginning, has always been very organic in terms of how it morphs into different things. We had season 1, and then we had the farm, and then we had the prison, and then we had Terminus, and then we had Alexandria. The dynamics of the show shift and change and I really believe that by the time this season ends, we’re going to see another one of those great opportunities where the show continues to show its strength.”
Of course, with James being alive there is always still an opportunity that he could return in a season or two. Morgan will be gone, but clearly not forgotten.
Nicotero referenced a specific scene when it comes to Morgan as well:
“The scene where he’s sitting in his house, trying to shoot his wife and just completely broke down was one of the moments in the pilot that made me realize that we had something different and that we had something special.”
I suspect that we’ll see a new take on this scene in Morgan’s last moments for the series. It will either be a similar setup, and Rick ends up pushing for Negan to live and face justice which is what Morgan would have previously pushed for. I believe this change of character where Morgan would be willing to take Negan’s life is what drives him away from ‘The Walking Dead’ and towards his uncertain future in ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’
Do you think that this change of scenery for Morgan is going to be good for his character and ‘Fear the Walking Dead’? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
