Warning: Major teases for the second half of The Walking Dead Season 6 ahead.
The Walking Dead is wasting no time teasing out the impending arrival of one of the comic book's most iconic characters.
In a sneak peek for the show's spring premiere shown during Sunday's Talking Dead, an encounter with some fellow road warriors puts Abraham, Sasha and Daryl face-to-face with a group of motorcycle-riding toughies who will eventually be identified as members of The Saviors, a group headed by a man named Negan.
Negan, as comic readers know, is one of the comic's most notorious villains and set to be played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as previously reported.
On Talking Dead, creator Robert Kirkman declined to say exactly when the character would be appearing -- though, he's widely rumored to be appearing first in the Season 6 finale -- but promised his debut would shake up the series much like it did the comic book series when Negan arrived in the milestone issue No. 100.
"The fact that we're getting to this point in the show, now that this catalyst is going to be thrown in ... that's going to just fundamentally change everything that we're doing in a really interesting, drastic, and scary way," he said.
Showrunner Scott Gimple added in a written statement: "We will be wooing you with the weirdest of Valentine's Day gifts: chaos, terror, heartbreak, heroics, tragedy, and terror. Yes, that's two terrors. Friends, in all seriousness, episode nine is one of the biggest episodes we've done. ... This one is gargantuan."
The Walking Dead returns Feb. 14 on AMC.