‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Premier Spoilers: Rick To Be Blamed For Negan’s Kill? Rick’s People Paying For His Arrogance

It's only a matter of days before "The Walking Dead" viewers will know the identity of Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) kill. "The Walking Dead" Season 7 will no doubt portray Negan as the villain in the premiere but Greg Nicotero, the highly popular series' producer, said in a recent interview that Rick (Andrew Lincoln) should be partially blamed for the impending character death as well.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Nicotero said that Rick would pay for being overly confident and underestimating the world and the other people still alive out there. These qualities that Rick has adopted throughout the course of "The Walking Dead" have put his group in harm's way.

"Listen, Rick Grimes thinks he's got a handle on things," Nicotero told ComicBook.com. "He thinks he knows what's in store for him out there. He thinks he knows that he can take on anybody that comes in his way. The truth of the matter is he can't and he doesn't."

Negan's introduction on "The Walking Dead" is an opportunity to expand the show's direction and explore more factions such as the Kingdom and the Sanctuary. Nicotero also stressed that the impending character death will substantially "change the direction" of "The Walking Dead" much like what occurred when Shane (Jon Bernthal), Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Beth (Emily Kinney), Hershel (Scott Wilson), and Tyreese (Chad Coleman) died in previous seasons.

Nicotero's remarks about Rick and his confidence on his group were already evident in his past decisions, specifically in how he readily massacred the Saviors to get supplies from the Hilltop colony, according to Screen Rant. Rick had become so accustomed to winning that he became arrogant, unknowingly leading himself to failure and making his group vulnerable to Negan's force.

As for who Negan killed on "The Walking Dead" Season 7 premiere, there are strong speculations that it would either be Glenn (Steven Yeun) or Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Parent Herald previously reported. However, signs strongly point to Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Carl's (Chandler Riggs) demise, too.

"The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman said that the character death will be a "rough episode emotionally" and is guaranteed to be a "gut-wrenching" one, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Kirkman also somehow confirmed that there's only one death in the premiere episode, so those rumors about two character deaths (Glenn and Maggie's) will have to rest for now.

"The Walking Dead" returns for its seventh season on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 9 PM on AMC. Watch a sneak peek below.