The season six finale of The Walking Dead left many fans upset, not just because of its major cliffhanger, but also because Negan, the foul-mouthed baddie from the comic books, got an introduction speech that ended up heavily censored.
Fans, though, will get to hear the full version of that speech, as it originally appeared in the comic book series, on the DVD and Blu-ray edition of the season once it comes out.
The Walking Dead director Greg Nicotero explained that he actually shot two versions of the introduction, because he knew it would never fly with the censors.
"We had to shoot two versions — we had to shoot the Blu-ray version, which had a lot of the swearing and a lot of Negan's colorful language, and then we had to shoot the broadcast version," Nicotero said to Entertainment Weekly. "So when you get the DVD or the Blu-ray version, that will have the full Negan speech from the graphic novel."
Nicotero stated that the cursing scene was deliberately shot as part of his director's cut because he wanted to share that powerful moment with fans as it was originally written. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who portrays Negan, also prefers that version.
The director defended the cliffhanger, which made many fans of the show angry. Throughout the season, the series teased Negan's arrival and announced that he would kill one major character. Although the season finale showed Negan raising his spiked baseball bat and striking someone, the series didn't reveal who the person on the receiving end of that strike actually was.
"I was very passionate about ending this season on a cliffhanger and not knowing, because I feel like it propels us into next season in a great way," Nicotero said. "So people can be upset. A week from now, they won't be upset anymore, and it'll be fun."
Nicotero pointed out that next season will be more about Negan and how the group has to deal with who he is. He felt that this means that the season finale is "perfect" as is and did everything it needed to do for setting up season seven.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC later this year.
