For as much as 'The Walking Dead' fans panicked when AMC ousted yet another show-runner from its best season to date, fears were somewhat allayed by the recent and universally well-recieved "Clear," written by season 4 show-runner Scott M. Gimple. Gimple won't officially take the reigns from Glen Mazzara until production begins this May, but what does series creator Robert Kirkman have to say of the decision to promote Gimple?

Sunday's all-new 'The Walking Dead' episode "Arrow on the Doorpost" will have some big shoes to fill after the previous stellar episode "Clear," but the latter's writer Scott M. Gimple has even bigger shoes to fill when the writer/producer takes over show-running duties for Glen Mazzara in season 4. No specific reasons have yet come to light over Mazzara's exit from the series, but Robert Kirkman assures fans the change will be for the best.

Speaking to Zap2It, Kirkman explained why Gimple was the natural choice to succeed Mazzara, having been behind a number of the AMC horror-drama's most iconic moments:

I think having Scott Gimple come up and become an executive producer and showrunner is gonna provide a very tremendous voice for the show. I think it's gonna give us a clear path moving forward. He's been an integral part of the writers room since the beginning of Season 2. I think we've got some really exciting times ahead of us under his leadership.

When [Mazzara's] slot opened up, [Gimple] was obviously the clear choice. You know he also wrote the episode where Sophia comes out of the barn ["Pretty Much Dead Already"]. A lot of the key moments that fans love that are constantly talked about are things he was a very big part of in the room and in some cases ended up writing directly into the episodes. He's been a really strong asset to us and was the clear choice.

Gimple will also write the season's penultimate episode "This Sorrowful Life," but what say you? Do you agree that Gimple will make a worthy successor to the title of 'Walking Dead' show-runner after Glen Mazzara? What do you hope to see from the future of AMC's 'The Walking Dead?'

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