The Walking Dead's David Morrissey is eager for the Governor to make a return. The actor starred as the Governor on the third and fourth seasons of the AMC drama series, serving as the show's first major villain. The character was created by Robert Kirkman for his comic book series and was given his own spinoff novels that explored Philip Blake's background and rise as the infamous leader he would later become.
The Governor was introduced in The Walking Dead season 3 as the ruthless leader of Woodbury, a fortified town of survivors. After learning about Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group's shelter at an abandoned prison, he becomes a threat to the group and attempts to take the prison from them. Throughout season 3, the Governor puts down his friendly and charming facade and goes on a warpath to take down Rick's group and Michonne (Danai Gurira), who killed his zombified daughter and saw past his act from the beginning. The Governor's obsession with taking the prison and killing Michonne leads him to gradually become more sadistic, even slaughtering his own people after they refuse to follow his plans. After the fall of Woodbury, he changes his identity, joins a new group of survivors and takes revenge on Rick's group in The Walking Dead season 4. In an all-out battle at the prison, Rick's group eventually overpowers the Governor and his new army. After being stabbed and shot in the head, the Governor dies and his storyline is finished. However, Morrissey thinks there is still more of his character's story to be told.
In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Morrissey shared that he hopes for the Governor's return to The Walking Dead someday, suggesting the show could adapt one of the three spinoff novels featuring his character.
"Obviously, The Walking Dead comes from a graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman. There's three novels within that: The Rise of the Governor, The Road to Woodbury and The Fall of the Governor. They are brilliant stories. If I returned, I'd love to return, in a filmic way, to tell those stories. One of the great things for me was in season four when I came back, I had four episodes, and they were all me. It was just my story. And I loved that. And I think there's something to be told. There's stories to be told in those novels that I think are really fascinating."
While there's no chance of the Governor returning to The Walking Dead in present time after his definitive death in season 4, there is a possibility for him to come back in flashback style or a prequel. Fans did get a Governor cameo after his death when Morrissey reprised his role in a hallucination sequence in season 5, but a proper return as the Governor is surely more what fans would like to see. Kirkman's Governor spinoff stories explored the complex character's origins and offered insight into why he became a sadistic leader who would execute anyone who got in his way, making them excellent material for some sort of spinoff.
The Governor's return to the series would likely be welcomed by fans, especially considering his popularity during seasons 3 and 4 as the show's first major villain. While it's not clear how they would fit his prequel storylines so late into the show now, it would be interesting for fans to see his background. While The Walking Dead has had great villains like Negan and Alpha in its later seasons, the Governor's more subtle violence and cruelty mixed with his gradual transformation into an insane and brutal character made for a very interesting antagonist to Rick and his group. While there does not seem to be any plans for the show to revisit the Governor in the near future, fans at least know that Morrissey is willing to return to his character.
Source: Digital Spy