Ahead of The Walking Dead’s return in a little over a month, the genre juggernaut has moved to cast a key role pulled directly from the comic books.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Cassady McClincy – currently being seen on Hulu’s must-see Castle Rock – has landed the role of Lydia. In the comic book realm, that character ends up in involved in a forbidden romance of sorts with Carl. Lydia is actually a part of the eerie Whisperers group – a group that will be debuting in the show’s upcoming ninth season – and this budding romance causes quite the friction amongst her group and the Rick Grimes-led pack.

Of course, AMC’s The Walking Dead has a Carl-shaped hole these days, so it remains to be seen just how the show will handle Lydia. We already know that Samantha Morton is on board to play Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers and the mother of Lydia, but that’s about it on that front.

The Walking Dead’s ninth season will premiere on October 7th.