Walking Dead Fans Love the Return of Dark Negan in Dead City Season 2

Actors Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan appeared at the San Diego Comic Con on Friday for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 panel, and they came bearing gifts. Most notably, a brief but compelling look at the upcoming season, which received an enthusiastic response from the audience. According to a report by ComicBook.com, the Dead City panel was held in Hall H and was moderated by Chris Hardwick, who led off the discussion with the first trailer for season two.

The minute-plus teaser reveals Morgan’s Negan appearing to return to his old ways, wearing a black leather jacket and whistling while carrying a new version of his barbed wire-wrapped bat Lucille. The trailer also features Cohan’s Maggie revealing her plan to return to New York City to rescue Negan, who faced an uncertain future at the hands of The Dama (Lisa Emery) at the end of the first season. However, the trailer shows the old Negan may be back, and capable of taking care of himself.

Watch the Dead City Season 2 Trailer Below:

Ratings were high for the first season of Dead City, as fans embraced the spinoff with a direct focus on two fan-favorite characters. The finale of season one ended on a bit of a cliffhanger for Negan, setting up a twisted and violent landscape for the following season. The official synopsis for season two reveals that Maggie and Negan will find themselves in the widening gang war erupting in New York.

“In the growing war for control of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan find themselves trapped on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they come to see that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.”

Fans in attendance at the panel directed most of their questions at Morgan, and seemed focused on Negan’s “dark turn” to his classic look, including a new Lucille, which was responsible for taking out some key characters in The Walking Dead. At the prodding of audience members, Morgan recited his classic Negan line, “Little pig, little pig,” to rousing applause. “This audience really loves old Negan,” he said laughingly. He later said that circumstances in the second season storyline will “bring back the old Negan.”

The Dead City Season 2 Cast

Also in attendance at the panel was showrunner and executive producer Eli Jorné, Gaius Charles (Perlie Armstrong) and Željko Ivanek (The Croat). Each discussed the challenges going into the new season, with Charles and Ivanek discussing their character motivations. The cast of Dead City season 2 also includes Mahina Anne Marie Napoleon as Ginny, Lisa Emery as The Dama, and Logan Kim as Hershel Rhee, who says his character also takes a dark turn in season two. Joining the cast for the new season are Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black), Jake Weary (Animal Kingdom), Keir Gilchrist (Love & Death), Pooya Mohseni (Madam Secretary), and Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy).

Executive producers on the series include Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead Universe, Cohan, Morgan, Brian Bockrath, Michael Satrazemis, and Colin Walsh. Dead City premiered in June 2023 and is one of three new spinoffs that followed the end of the flagship series.The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premiered in September 2023 and featured Norman Reedus’ character taking an unexpected trip to France, with Melissa McBride’s Carol joining the series in its upcoming second season. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live premiered in February of this year, and featured the return of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) to the franchise.