Fear the Walking Dead has officially begun its eighth and final season on the 2023 television schedule, with the opener revealing the new status quo following the seven-year time shift that had been teased. Despite the fact that there are only a few episodes left, the premiere launched the show into what may be a new era. It also had some surprises for Morgan, who has appeared throughout the Walking Dead franchise since the first season. Lennie James, who has played the character for almost a decade, explained why it’s “utterly ludicrous.”
Season 8 (with new episodes launching on AMC and accessible for streaming in 2023) celebrates 13 years since Lennie James debuted as Morgan Jones on The Walking Dead, and he has already appeared in over 100 episodes of the show without being killed off. I questioned the performer about his experience playing Morgan’s unlikely survival story going back to the original program in 2010 when he appeared with CinemaBlend earlier this year at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta. He revealed:
Honestly? Completely absurd. You couldn’t make this stuff up. You couldn’t do it. If someone had mentioned that at the start, on the first day – because, remember, when I completed the first episode, that was all I was guaranteed. That was all I agreed to. I didn’t sign up to say, ‘I’ll be back in two seasons.’ ‘We’re only doing this one episode,’ it said. We can make no other promises.’ So I set out on my own. That was merely a side gig for me. I had a fantastic time. It was a bucket list item because I got to work with Frank Darabont, and that’s all there was to it.
Morgan did, as fans of The Walking Dead will recall, arrive in the series premiere with no hint that he’d return after accomplishing his goal of pushing Rick to the next stage of his zombie apocalypse trip. He returned for a single episode in Season 3, made a few appearances in Season 5, and then began a longer run in Season 6. Frank Darabont created the show but was only on board as showrunner for the first season, therefore Lennie James only had one episode to collaborate on. The celebrity continued to address Morgan, who had initially only had one episode:
So, if you had told me at the time that Morgan would wind up where he is now, I would have replied, ‘You’re crazy. You’re insane. You have no idea what you’re talking about. That’s impossible.’ ‘Is there going to be a spinoff show, and you’re going to join it in Season 4? This isn’t going to happen.’ So I continuously pinch myself to remind myself of how fortunate I am, but I also remember how ludicrous Morgan’s path has been in my life.
Back in Season 1 (which we consider to be the greatest of the series), no one could have predicted that The Walking Dead would become so successful for AMC that it would spawn not one, but numerous spinoffs! Morgan made his Fear the Walking Dead debut in 2018, and he has been a direct link between the parent series and its first spinoff. With that and how long Morgan has survived without being killed off, he is absolutely unique in this genre.
Of course, there’s no telling what Morgan will face in the eighth and final season of Fear the Walking Dead, and his run of not being killed off despite “ridiculous” odds against him may come to an end. For the time being, we can only wait and watch, hoping that the future isn’t quite as dismal as it seems in some aspects after the seven-year time jump.
Keep an eye on AMC on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, and go back in time with Lennie James as Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead’s spinoff, which is available to stream with a Hulu membership. Additionally, use our guide to stay up to date on the upcoming Walking Dead TV programs and movies!