Having remained silent since his dismissal from ‘The Walking Dead,’ Frank Darabont has now spoken openly about it, while elaborating on his new TNT series ‘L.A. Noir.’

Since announcing a return to television with the upcoming TNT series L.A. Noir, it was inevitable that Frank Darabont would address his highly publicized departure from The Walking Dead, and he did so in a recent interview with TV Guide.

Naturally, due to the success The Walking Dead series dvds had enjoyed up to that point, and because Darabont is a well-known talent, the unexpected exit of the show’s lead creative voice became the subject of great speculation last summer. The reason for Darabont’s leaving was eventually blamed on budget constraints issued by AMC after The Walking Dead’s first season.

Through it all, Darabont remained silent. However, with the first Darabont-less Walking Dead episodes airing when season 2 resumes in February, now is probably as good a time as any for the filmmaker to put the issue to rest.

With production on L.A. Noir starting soon, Screen Rant will be sure to update with any breaking news. Meanwhile, The Walking Dead continues its second season starting February 12 on AMC.