Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Walking Dead: Dead City

Those in attendance at the San Diego Comic-Con panel for The Walking Dead: Dead City this past summer got a glimpse of some truly exciting footage for fans of the long-running zombie franchise: the return of Lucille, Negan’s faithful barbed-wire baseball bat. The last we saw of Lucille was on the original Walking Dead series, when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) set the instrument of terror on fire to atone for his violent ways. With the clip showing Negan swinging Lucille again while whistling, it possibly indicates Negan will once again rely on some of his darker impulses. The how and why of Negan’s trajectory back toward true evil remains to be seen.

As exciting as it was for fans to see Lucille back in action, it was even more of a thrill for Morgan. When asked by Collider how it felt to pick up the bat again, the actor had this to say:

Well, I freaked out. I didn’t realize how much I missed her, not only as Negan, but as myself. Just getting to hold that damn bat again adds something to that character and the swagger and the confidence and the humor that Negan has. I think it’s been sorely missed. The second that she’s back in Negan’s hands, he is empowered in some way that he hasn’t been in the last few years. It was a cool thing, having her back.

Bringing Back the Bat Was Special For Morgan

Negan holding a knife to a man's throat standing over a ledge on The Walking Dead: Dead City. Gabriel and Negan covered in walker guts and blood in The Walking Dead Craven and Negan in the Walking Dead Negan taunting Rick in a scene from The Walking Dead. Negan holding a knife to a man's throat standing over a ledge on The Walking Dead: Dead City. Gabriel and Negan covered in walker guts and blood in The Walking Dead Craven and Negan in the Walking Dead Negan taunting Rick in a scene from The Walking Dead.

Morgan also revealed that Lucille holds a special place in his own heart. “Most people hand their props back to the prop guys in between shots, and I would never let anybody touch her. She’d go to my trailer with me. She’d go to the bathroom with me. She’d get coffee. They named her after my wife, played by my wife, so it was always good.”

He’s referring to the season 10 finale of The Walking Dead, “Here’s Negan,” in which his real-life spouse, Hilarie Burton-Morgan, portrayed Negan’s late wife, also named Lucille. “I’m not going to lie, I was nervous as hell going in,” Morgan stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly concerning working with his wife. “I didn’t know how she would be. I don’t f**k around. I go to work. We better f**king bring it.”

“It was great. That first day with her, I went home just like, ‘Thank God!'”

The episode was a critical and commercial success, with many praising the performances of Morgan and Burton-Morgan. It currently holds an 86 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews. The critical consensus reads, “Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s chemistry with real-life partner Hilarie Burton adds a bittersweet authenticity to ‘Here’s Negan,’ a strong season finale that brings shades of humanity to one of The Walking Dead‘s most irredeemable characters.”

The first season of The Walking Dead: Dead City is streaming on AMC+ now. Season 2 is set to premiere sometime in 2025.