As fans have witnessed throughout its 11 seasons, The Walking Dead's environment is an unforgiving place, where its tough characters strive hard for survival, but it seems as though Jeffery Dean Morgan, who plays Negan and is considered one of TV's best villains, wasn't always in the running to star as the bat-wielding and brutal leader of the Saviors.
Three years after its finale, The Walking Dead still remains a firm fixture in many zombie-loving viewers' hearts, even though some fans feel like the series wasn't as strong towards its latter seasons. Regardless, there's no denying that its cast line-up was packed with incredible talents like Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Danai Gurira, and Lauran Cohan, who made its post-apocalyptic vibe feel real and its narrative not only exciting but deeply impactful. Every Walking Dead fan has their favorite villain from the series, but the charismatic and entertaining Negan tops many lists due to his sarcastic personality and quick wit. However, even though TWD fandom couldn't imagine anyone other than Morgan slipping into the boots of Negan, it was close to being a different actor from the Scream franchise.
Matthew Lillard almost played Negan on The Walking Dead
As highlighted by Comic Book, Matthew Lillard, who has appeared in a total of six Scream movies and is set to return in Scream 7, was once almost cast in The Walking Dead Season 6 as the sarcastic and savage Negan. Many will know Lillard for his portrayal of Stu Macher in the original 1996 Scream movie and as one of the original Ghostface killers. During a Scream panel at Atlanta’s Walker Stalker Con in 2022, he talked about his casting experience with The Walking Dead, even though he knew nothing about the series.
“So I got a call. They said they want you to audition for The Walking Dead. It’s a big part. I’m like, ‘Okay, cool.’ I didn’t watch the show, sorry. So I went in to audition and they loved it. They were like, ‘Wow, they really loved it, you’re in the running for this part.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s great. It usually means it’s going to somebody else,’”
Lillard stated that he was then called back for a second audition where the producers asked him to be "funny and dramatic". This is when he was told that the role was for the part of Negan but that it was between him and Jeffery Dean Morgan. Sadly for Lillard, he didn't get the part and the team went for Morgan instead, who is reported to have brought in a "fiercer energy." Although it's not clear if Lillard was considered for the role of Morgan because of his role as Ghostface in Scream, it would make complete sense if this was the reason as his character does share quite a lot of similarities to the sarcastic leader of the Saviors.
Seemingly, The Walking Dead‘s Robert Kirkman liked the idea of the Scream actor taking on the role of Negan and admitted that when he later saw Morgan's face on merch for the series, he still thought that Lillard's face should have been there. I think most fans can agree that Morgan portrays a brilliant Negan and even though Lillard would have offered up something equally great, Morgan IS Negan.
