NYCC Surprise! Fan Favorite The Walking Dead Character Has Been Added to Season Four

Season four of The Walking Dead debuted last night, but the day before at New York Comic Con there were still some casting reveals the showrunners had to share with us. Namely: Long-awaited comics character Sgt. Abraham Ford is visiting the zombie apocalypse. Find out who’s playing him, which other character’s showing up, and other tidbits from the NYCC panel under the jump.

Ford, who in the comics becomes Rick’s right-hand man after an initial bout of animosity, is to be played by Southland‘s Michael Cudlitz. Says Cudlitz:

“I was laying low because [Abraham has] a very iconic look. It would be very easy for somebody to put the pieces together if they saw me strolling around [near the show’s set.] So I was staying very close to the hotel. And I didn’t hang out with any of the other castmembers… There’s no guarantee of how long or how short [my run on the show] will be, which is one of the things I actually find pretty exciting about the job after being locked into Southland for so many years. But [Abraham] is very important in the comic, so I imagine even if it is short, it’ll be bright.”

Cudlitz will be a season regular, and TVLine has the first picture of him in character. He’ll be joined by fellow newbie The Walking Dead actor Josh McDermitt, who’s playing playing Dr. Eugene Porter, [minor comic spoilers] a scientist who thinks he knows the cause of the zombie epidemic. The pair of them travel with Rosita Espinosa, whom it was previously announced will be played by Christian Serratos.

As for other news from the panel:

• Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira deny that there’s a romance between Rick and Michonne in the mix for season four. Gurira did say, however, that “I do appreciate that people want to see Michonne get some.”
• Writer Scott Gimple says Carol’s going to really go the extra mile to protect the kids this season: “She’s making sure she’s not a victim…but making sure the kids aren’t victims either.” I didn’t watch the premiere last night—can someone please confirm that they have her in the opening credits this season? It’s bogus that she wasn’t there before.
• According to Lincoln, Carl (Chandler Riggs) is going to be particularly badass this season, especially in episode nine.
• Attendees got the first look at a “Moss Walker,” a.k.a. a walker that’s grown into the ground.
• And the most important for last: Eugene will have a mullet.

(via: TVLine, Newsarama, Hollywood Life, photo by Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC)

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