'Walking Dead' Season 6 [SPOILERS]: Robert Kirkman Calls Negan "An Atomic Bomb"

Fans have been waiting for Negan to show up on The Walking Dead for what feels like years now, and we're getting much closer to his arrival at the end of Season 6, likely in the finale. In a new interview, which does contain some spoilers, creator Robert Kirkman calls the character "an atomic bomb."

Anyone who has read the comics or is even familiar with the source material knows that Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character will shake up the world of The Walking Dead in a major way. But Kirkman spoke to EW and went as far as to equate Negan's arrival with a nuclear blast.

"As far as shake-ups go, we have lots of shake-ups from season to season," Kirkman said. "It keeps things interesting – keeps the blood pumping, I like to say – but Negan is kind of an atomic bomb that's going to be dropped on the show and the show will probably never be the same after that. So buckle up, I guess?"

Negan's arrival in the comics is enough of a shock, but his presence causes major problems for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and the rest of the group for quite some time. Negan leads a group called the Saviors, who "protect" the residents of the communities around Alexandria in exchange for half of their supplies.

So when the character finally does arrive on the show, expect some immediate and dangerous consequences.

"I think the Saviors are dangerously organized," Kirkman said. "The Wolves were psychotic, the Hunters had a lot of weaknesses. When it comes to the Saviors, and Negan in particular, the way I've always thought about this in the comics is this is a group that's led by a guy who's had his morality dial a few clicks away from Rick toward the darker aspects of his personality, but is still an intellectual and capable leader who's kept his group alive against all odds just as long as Rick has."

And what happens when Rick and Negan finally collide? Picture the unstoppable force and the immovable object.

"It's really the best encountering the best," Kirkman said. "When these two forces come head to head, things are gonna get interesting. This is a much different group than they've ever encountered. The Saviors are a group they're not really prepared for."

What do you think will happen when Negan arrives on The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments section below.