Daryl Dixon is ready for action when The Walking Dead returns with the second half of season 9 – even Norman Reedus was caught off guard when he first saw the new villains on set.
“It took me back a second,” the actor, 50, says in the new issue of Us Weekly. “I paused; there was something so sad almost about them. You could see a person back there hiding right in plain sight and scared people are the worst – they’ll do anything.”
The Whisperers – who took the life of Jesus (Tom Payne) in the November midseason finale – will be back in full force when the show returns. According to Reedus, they’re a threat like we’ve never seen on the post-apocalyptic drama.
“They have adapted like a virus; it’s very clever what they’re doing and how they’re doing it,” the Ride With Norman Reedus star says. “It throws you off guard. We can’t tell who’s who especially at this stage in the game. Just when we thought the nightmare was manageable, we lost key members. It’s a lot to wrap your head around.”
And yes, The Whisperers are worse than Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan, according to the star. “We haven’t figured them out yet … Negan, you could understand,” he said. Plus, the bat-swinging killer isn’t really on Daryl’s radar.
“I think if Daryl knew Negan was out, he would hunt him. I’m not sure how happy he would be about that,” the Boondock Saints actor says. “There’s a lot going on at the moment. Daryl has kind of been out of the loop with Negan. Michonne was handling that.”
However, we do have one piece of good news to share: Dog is back for the long haul: “He’s my favorite. He’s so perfect for Daryl and you’ll see just how awesome he is — just you wait.”
Pick up the new issue of Us Weekly for even more from Reedus!
The Walking Dead season 9 returns to AMC Sunday, February 10, at 9 p.m. ET.
