The Walking Dead: Jeffrey Dean Morgan Reveals What Negan Really Thinks of Rick Grimes
In an update regarding AMC’s The Walking Dead: Dead City, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan revealed that his character, Negan, ultimately came to like and respect Rick Grimes, viewing him as a rare peer among post-apocalyptic leaders. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in August 2026, Morgan detailed how the two former rivals shared more similarities than differences in their respective missions to protect their communities, despite utilizing radically contrasting methods.
The Evolution of a Complex Rivalry
The psychological dynamic between Negan and Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes has remained a central pillar of fan fascination long after their primary clashes in the flagship series. That creative tension resurfaced directly in a recent episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3, starring Morgan alongside Lauren Cohan. During the episode, Negan revives Rick’s iconic three vetting questions—asking captive rival survivors how many walkers they have killed, how many people they have killed, and why—while forcing them to settle a territorial dispute in New York City.
According to Morgan, that verbal nod to Rick was more than just routine sarcasm. It reflected an underlying appreciation that developed over years of conflict. “I think Negan a long time ago came to a conclusion that he liked Rick,” Morgan told Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Bleeding Cool. “I think he respected Rick, and one of the only people he really respected at that time was Rick Grimes.”
The actors and writers built these characters on parallel tracks of authoritarian and moral survival. Morgan noted that while Rick maintained better emotional reasoning behind his difficult decisions, Negan leaned into a theatrical, abrasive persona. Yet, the core motivation remained identical. “They were both trying to lead people. They were both trying to do right by their communities,” Morgan explained to Entertainment Weekly. “Negan just did it in a completely different way—generally in the smiley, evil way.”
Echoes of the Past in New York City
The connection between the two men extends beyond dialogue choices into daily survival tactics within the spin-off’s narrative. In the same season arc, Maggie, played by Lauren Cohan, asks Negan for assistance planting crops in Central Park. Negan initially treats the request as a joke before shifting focus to urgent personal business. That momentary hesitation brings narrative symmetry back to Negan’s famous declaration during the infamous Glenn confrontation: “I’m not growing a garden.”
This recurring agricultural motif highlights how closely intertwined the fates of these survivors remain, even as Rick continues his own separate journey within the expanded franchise universe alongside Norman Reedus’s Daryl Dixon.
Looking Ahead at the Franchise Horizon
As The Walking Dead: Dead City continues its third season run on AMC, the ghost of Rick Grimes looms large over Negan’s current choices in Manhattan. Whether this thematic bridging leads to an eventual physical reunion between the two former enemies remains the primary question driving fan speculation across global television markets. For now, the acknowledgment from Morgan confirms that mutual respect survived the barbed wire and the prison cells.
