The Real Reason Steven Yeun Was Killed Off on The Walking Dead

It shifted the legendary AMC series in an entirely different direction as well as created a new villain for audiences to despise.

Negan – who emerges during the sinister, final moments of the season six conclusion (S6, E16: "Last Day on Earth") – brings down the hammer on a member of Rick's crew. The baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire unleashes carnage yet audiences were left for months speculating who was the unlucky victim of the assault.

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Hence, when the seventh season premiered, fans were anxious to discover who was dead. There was anticipation that Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) was the unfortunate victim yet when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) also turned the bat on Glenn (Steven Yeun) – people were left speechless. The assault was especially gruesome considering it took place in front of his pregnant wife, Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

The twist in the series also took Steven Yeun, the actor who portrays Glenn in The Walking Dead, off guard. While he agrees that the decision to terminate Glenn in the season seven opener felt "natural" it was not something he championed. In fact, the 39-year-old actor recently revealed that he felt lonely and depressed following the departure.

"I left 'Walking Dead' and I kind of had an existential crisis," Yeun told IndieWire, "Not because I longed to be back there, but because I was made to feel the loneliness of life, which is that decisions aren't made for you."

The comment left many of the rampant fan base believing Steven Yeun was forced into leaving The Walking Dead. However, the actor dismissed any controversy. "In hindsight, it was just a natural end, everyone felt it. I wasn't pining to be off the show. It was just the story, and you service the story."

While Yeun admits he felt consumed and "swallowed up" by TWD he would not replace the experience with anything. Despite the cruel demise, Glenn remains one of the iconic characters of the show.

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"There's something very beautiful about the end, turning the page and closing the book," he summarized the chapter spent working on The Walking Dead. Since the departure, Yeun has had little problem landing other projects. He's appeared in several noteworthy shows, including voice performances in Tuca & Bertie (Netflix ) and Voltron: Legendary Defender (Dreamworks).