dude that plays negan confirms season 7 will start where they left off...replaying the same scene over and revealing who got killed. also confirms nobody knows who died, and he didn't even know it was gonna be a cliffhanger. also said there's gonna be a backstory on negan.
On whether we will see what made Negan whom he is now:
“I talked to [comic creator] Robert Kirkman [on Sunday night] after we did Talking Dead and he is kind of doing the backstory of Negan now, so whether or not or when we see that – I hope we do, I can’t answer that. I know when season 7 kicks off it’s going to kick off directly from where we left it; that’s about all I know as a fact at this point. But hopefully we’ll find out more about Negan as we go. I mean, I think his backstory is going to be pretty fascinating.
On whether they show will pick right back to see who was killed:
“That would be the hope, yeah. That’s the impression I have, that we will pick up directly from what we saw [in the finale]; that season 6 ended on that note and season 7’s going to pick up right where we left off. So, yeah, you’re going to see who’s at the end of that bat, and what happened from there.”
On whether he thought the cliffhanger was necessary:
“Well, I didn’t know it was going to be a cliffhanger until I watched the show. That’s just how it was done in my world. I don’t know if any of the cast knew exactly how it was going to end, which kind of caused a lot of the uncertainty and emotion that was going on. That said, in talking to Scott and Robert [after the finale], I think that their explanation was that it was the end of the story for that season, and that Rick has lost control and there’s Negan, and Negan has all the control.
“And I think that’s where they wanted to end the story, and it’s not about the death of that person, and then the death of the person is going to kick off season 7, and season 7 will be a big part of, obviously, who is on the receiving end of Lucille? I understand the fans’ frustration, I get that; that being said … I have to trust these writers and showrunners. They know what they’re doing; a lot of people watch for 6 seasons, and I believe that they’ll be back to see who met Lucille and as the story continues to grow.”