It's possible that defeated in the season 8 finale. In a drastic change of the status quo, Rick opted to keep him as a prisoner back in Alexandria instead of killing him.

This is fairly similar to what happens to Negan in Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comics, which has subsequently explored Negan's past. Readers have seen him go from a foul-mouthed gym teacher to a grieving widow to the leader of The Saviors. Now that "All Out War" has concluded, Walking Dead fans are curious if Negan's story will be seen on-screen in future seasons.

When answering questions in its weekly fan mailbag, The Walking Dead season 9 now filming, it's possible that we could see more of Negan's story on the small screen in the near future.

The Walking Dead - Negan with walkers

After all, The Walking Dead has never shied away from shuffling its timeline around. When the Governor was reintroduced in season 4, he got a run of flashback episodes that painted him in a new light; for a little bit, at least. With Negan sticking around, the show will need to find a way to make him appear a bit more sympathetic, given Carl can no longer serve as his outlet. One way to do that would be seeing him as a grieving husband just before the apocalypse. Depending on how closely the show adheres the comics, there could be a two-year time jump between seasons 8 and 9... or 9 and 10. And assuming Negan remains imprisoned for that long, he wouldn't have much to do other than reflect on his past.

It's worth mentioning that Negan's presence creates another problem for Rick. His decision to leave Negan alive didn't sit well with Maggie at all. She still wants vengeance since Negan killed her husband, Glenn. The fact that covertly introduced an all-new Walking Dead villain to deal with, which is where Negan could end up proving useful. He's been a formidable opponent, so the possibility of him forming uneasy alliance with Rick is intriguing to say the least.

The Walking Dead season 9 is expected to premiere in fall 2018.

Source: Skybound