No available reporting supports the claim that Steven Yeun was fired from The Walking Dead. Reports and Yeun’s own comments describe Glenn Rhee’s exit as a planned story decision: the show adapted a major comic-book death, and Yeun said he wanted to perform it rather than see it given to another character.
Why people think Steven Yeun left in season 6
In season 6’s “Thank You,” Glenn appeared to fall into a walker horde after Nicholas shot himself and knocked them from a dumpster. The episode left his fate uncertain, but Glenn survived by lying beneath Nicholas’s body, as TIME’s recap explained. That cliffhanger was a fake-out, not Yeun’s final episode.
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When and how Glenn actually died
Glenn was killed by Negan in the season 7 premiere. The scene followed the broad outcome of The Walking Dead comic’s issue 100, in which Negan also kills Glenn. The TV episode and comic are different versions of the story; the shared point is who kills Glenn and the significance of the death. TVLine’s contemporaneous report and CBS News’ coverage connected the television exit to the comic.
Yeun said he wanted to play the iconic scene
After the premiere, Yeun appeared on Talking Dead and said he had asked showrunner Scott M. Gimple and comic creator Robert Kirkman not to give Glenn’s death to another character. TVLine quoted him saying, “Don’t give that to anybody [else].” CBS News also quoted Yeun describing the experience as “very wild.” His comments point to his interest in performing the scene, not to a firing.
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The death was described as a long-planned story choice
CBS News reported that Gimple said the decision to kill Glenn and Abraham had been made roughly two years earlier. The stated creative aim was to make the audience believe Negan would control Rick; Gimple summed up the question behind the choice as, “What would break Rick?” That is evidence of a planned narrative decision, not proof of every detail of Yeun’s employment arrangements.
What Yeun said about Glenn’s recognition
In a 2017 interview, Yeun said he loved his time on the show but felt Glenn had not received his fair due in outside perceptions while he was alive. Vanity Fair reported his reflection: “Internally, it was incredible. Externally, it was tough sometimes because I never felt like he got his fair due.” Yeun also said the backlash to the graphic death made sense and discussed Glenn’s limited individual recognition and merchandise. Those retrospective comments describe his perspective on the character’s recognition; they do not establish that his departure was employment-related. Vanity Fair’s July 2017 coverage summarizes the interview.
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Comic and television versions of Glenn’s exit
| Version | Where the death occurs | Shared story point |
|---|---|---|
| Comic | Issue 100 | Negan kills Glenn. |
| Television | Season 7 premiere | Negan kills Glenn; the show adapts the major character outcome. |
The season 6 “Thank You” cliffhanger should not be confused with either version of Glenn’s final death. TIME’s 2015 recap covered the apparent fall and survival; its 2016 coverage addressed the season 7 death and comic parallel.
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