'The Walking Dead' season 7 release date, spoilers news: Ross Marquand teases season 7 premiere; did Negan kill Daryl?

In a couple of months, the excruciatingly long wait for the next chapter of AMC's "The Walking Dead" will be over, and fans will finally learn whose brains it was that Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) bashed to a pulp in the shocking season 6 finale.

While many were annoyed and angered over the controversial sixth season-ender, in which the screen cut to black just as Negan began beating his victim to death, "The Walking Dead" actor Ross Marquand recently said that the victim's reveal in the season 7 premiere will be worth the massive cliffhanger and the long wait.

"Everyone is expecting it to be devastating, and it is," the actor, who plays fan-favorite Aaron, told PopSugar." It's a rough, rough exit, you know? That being said, I think it's a great episode, too. I think it's an episode that people will watch and talk about for years to come, honestly."

In the interview, Marquand also spoke about filming the climactic and much-hyped scene, saying, "It was not fun."

"None of us were having a great time during those scenes," he explained. "It was an absolute loss of someone that we really care a lot about. We say this time and time again, but it's not just a TV show for us — it's a family.

"When you lose a family member, it's extraordinarily difficult," he said, adding that the "Walking Dead" cast felt the on-screen death as losing someone that they really cared about in real life.

Meanwhile, Bustle has a theory about the identity of the zombie apocalypse survivor Negan killed in the season 6 finale. According to the website, based on a sneak peek of the upcoming seventh season, it may be Daryl (Norman Reedus) who was killed off.

In the new season 7 clip, Dwight (Austin Amelio), one of the Saviors, drives a motorcycle down a highway and stops to look at a group pf walkers. In the scene, Dwight is wearing Daryl's vest. After he stops his bike to look at the undead crawling down the highway, Dwight turns around, and the clip ends.

Bustle notes that the fact that the Savior is wearing Daryl's vest could mean that he took the item off Daryl's corpse after Negan clobbered the fan-favorite original character to death.

"The Walking Dead" season 7 debuts on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 9 p.m. EDT on AMC.