Entertainment

'The Walking Dead' Confirms A Fan-Favorite Villain Is Coming To The Show

rick grimes amc walking dead
Gene Page/AMC
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Warning: If you do not read "The Walking Dead" comic series, there are spoilers ahead.

A huge villain from "The Walking Dead" will be joining the series soon.

Sunday night, AMC aired a one-hour special of "The Talking Dead," the usual aftershow companion to "The Walking Dead," giving a preview of the show's upcoming season five this fall.

Near the end of the special, host Chris Hardwick asked executive producer Scott Gimple about his favorite rumor he has heard for the series and he briefly slipped up about a very popular character making an entrance soon.

"The recent one [rumor] that Jon Hamm was going to play Negan, who is a character coming up, a villain," said Gimple.

With fangirl Aisha Tyler sitting right next to him, Gimple quickly added "coming up eventually."

Earlier this year, it was reported "The Walking Dead" series creator Robert Kirkman said "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm would be perfect for the role of fan-favorite villain Negan in the future of the series.

Comic fans know Negan is a character who comes in and radically changes the dynamic of the group.

negan the walking dead
Negan as he appears in "The Walking Dead" comic series.  Skybound / The Walking Dead

However, there's just one slight problem that could prevent Negan's appearance on the show from feeling authentic.

Hardwick pointed out that "every other word out of his mouth is the 'f' word.'"

Negan's unabashedly vulgar vernacular defines his character so it will be an interesting one to see translated onto the small screen.

Gimple joked that viewers should reach out to their cable providers and make AMC a paid network. 

Kirkman has previously said he has discussed casting Negan on the series with Gimple; however, we shouldn't expect to see him in the near future.

"I wouldn’t expect Negan too terribly soon, although he is definitely in the plan," Kirkman told MTV News. "It’s a 99% lock that he’s going to be in the show eventually, so be on the lookout for that."

Right now, Gimple says that all 16 episodes for season five are relatively figured out.

The first trailer for "The Walking Dead" season five will premiere Friday, July 25, at San Diego Comic Con.

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Kirsten Acuna was a correspondent on Business Insider's Entertainment team covering TV, movies, and theme parks. She is Businness Insider's resident expert on all things "The Walking Dead." YKirsten covers superheroes and all things Disney (Marvel, Pixar, and live-action remakes). She is a verified film critic on Rotten TomatoesKirsten has previously written for TV Guide and Time Out New York Kids. She joined Business Insider's entertainment team in 2012 as a reporter, helping to build the team from two people. She holds a degree in magazine journalism and minors in both English and child family studies from Syracuse University.Follow her on Twitter @KirstenAcuna.