If you're wondering how much longer AMC can sustain "The Walking Dead," the answer is … well, quite a while.

During a Produced By panel appearance over the weekend, "Walking Dead" producer David Alpert spoke about the challenges of adapting a long-lasting, successful comic book for television. According to Alpert, using Robert Kirkman's "Walking Dead" comics as a template for the "Walking Dead" show isn't a problem — in fact, it leads the way for many more seasons to come.

"I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what season 10 is gonna be," Alpert said, according to IndieWire. "We know where season 11 and 12... we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we're lucky enough to get there."

Given the show's massive ratings, "Walking Dead" won't go anywhere as long as AMC still wants to make it. But with the show only up to its fifth season, how is it possible that producers are already thinking seven seasons into the future?

SPOILERS FOR THE "WALKING DEAD" COMICS AHEAD.

There is plenty of material in Kirkman's "Walking Dead" comics to keep the show moving along for several years yet. There's everything that happens at the Alexandria safe zone, including the war against Negan; that could easily stretch out over two seasons or more. And then there's the two-year time-jump that occurred in the most recent issue of "Walking Dead." At the moment, the comic shows no signs of slowing down. Why should the show be any different?

The question is, will the cast members want to remain on board for another six or seven years? That seems like a tall order for folks like Norman Reedus, who is bound to be in demand thanks to his work on the super popular series. But perhaps "The Walking Dead" is bigger than any one Daryl Dixon.

What do you think of "The Walking Dead" lasting for 12 seasons?