Written by Alisha Weinberger
Undead aside, the zombie apocalypse is about to get a little more crowded.
The Walking Dead has named four cast members as new show regulars. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Tom Payne, Austin Amelio and Xander Berkeley will be joining the post-apocalyptic wastes as regulars, as opposed to their former roles as recurring. However, this has been common practice for AMC’s critically acclaimed drama, with cast members starting as recurring then are later given the option of promotion to series regular.
This bump in regular cast members comes even further to no surprise as the quartet’s characters are not only pivotal on screen but also in the show’s ongoing comic book source material written by Robert Kirkman.
Most notably is Morgan as Negan, the comic’s most nefarious villain to date. Payne is Jesus, a strange long-haired survivor who aligns himself with Rick, Austin Amelio plays Dwight, who was badly burned by Negan in the comics, and Berkeley is Gregory, the leader of the Hilltop Colony, who butted heads with the pregnant Maggie last season.
The list of series regulars is now set to 20. As TWD has a habit of tugging at our heartstrings, long time fans of either show or comic should know this will not last long. If Negan’s reveal at the end of last season will hold any validity to his in-print counterpart, then a major character death is on its way.
Season 7 of The Walking Dead premiers in October, with a premiere date and trailer set to be released at this upcoming San Diego Comic Con.
Sources cited from The Hollywood Reporter.
