As we head towards Season 6 of "The Walking Dead," one of the big questions fans of the comic book source material have been asking is a simple one: where's Negan?

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the AMC series' showrunner Scott M. Gimple finally answers that question -- sort of.

"It's absolutely a possibility," Gimple told EW. "And when I say it's a possibility, we have a plan in place, but there's a couple variables for that plan that we're deciding about. It really depends on a few factors as we move into setting up the last bit of the season story-wise."

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Negan, his barbed wire-wrapped bat named Lucille and popular good guy Jesus are all major parts of the comic book's Alexandria-based storylines, so it's understandable that readers are anxious to see them brought to life on the live-action zombie drama now that the series is in that locale. Series creator Robert Kirkman weighed in on their debuts as well, pointing to past introductions as examples of how the show's crew is determined to make sure they get it right when adding to the show's cast.

"When it comes to characters like The Governor, Michonne, Abraham, and others like Jesus and Negan who are fan-favorite characters in the comics, it's always a challenge to get it right because it's those characters -- much like Rick Grimes in the beginning -- that fans already have a sense of and expectations for," Kirkman explained to EW. "So we're always careful, and I feel like we've done a really good job servicing those fan expectations. Hopefully that trend will continue...if the characters you mention are to appear soon."

Based on the Image Comics series of the same name and created by Robert Kirkman, the sixth season of "The Walking Dead" is scheduled to debut with a 90-minute episode Oct. 11 on AMC.