'The Walking Dead' Plot Speculations: Will Season 6 Set Stage for Negan's Introduction?

"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC for its sixth season in October, and it is expected to pick up immediately, following the events of the previous season that saw Morgan arriving at Alexandria Safe-Zone.

According to reports, season 6 will adhere closely to Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" comic book series, which is the source material for the television show.  

Talking about season 6, showrunner Scott M Gimple told Entertainment Weekly that one of the highlights is that the new season will explore the backstories of some key characters.

"I think there's a way that Robert did some of the story that we're reaching that had a real past to it, where people are referring to some things in the past in the comic. And we're able to portray some of that backstory in some ways that you didn't get to see in the comic," the showrunner said.

This has sparked speculations that season 6 will at least pave the way for Negan's introduction. Negan is a notorious character in "The Walking Dead" comic series, who is also the head of a group of survivors called the Saviors.

The Saviors survive by dominating other communities such as Alexandria Safe Zone, however, their rise to power is not detailed in the comics.

Although it is too soon to say if Negan will put in an appearance in the sixth season -- especially since there hasn't been any announcement regarding who will play the character -- his introduction will result in the death of a fan-favourite character. In Kirkman's books, Negan bashes Glenn's skull with his baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he has affectionately nicknamed Lucille.

Stephen Yeun (Glenn) spoke about his character's death at the 2015 National Association of Broadcasters Show, saying: "The way that we make the show — the writers and everybody really want to focus on making things poignant and purposeful and meaningful. So if it were time for Glenn to go, then it's probably going to be awesome."

"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC this fall.