‘The Walking Dead’ Casts ‘Once Upon A Time’ Star, ‘Nurse Jackie’ Actress [Spoilers]

The Walking Dead added two new potential zombie meals to its cast, and these fresh faces might look familiar. Before you read on, be forewarned that spoilers for The Walking Dead TV series and comic books are ahead.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Once Upon a Time star Ethan Embry and Nurse Jackie actress Merritt Wever are two of the new season 6 recruits. Wever’s Walking Dead character has a comic book counterpart, but Embry’s does not. There have been no further details provided on the characters that the newcomers will be playing, but Embry does appear in the season 6 trailer that was unveiled at Comic-Con. It looks like his character is a resident of Alexandria who wasn’t introduced last season.

“So we’re all just supposed to fall in line behind you,” Embry’s character says to Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) during a town meeting. He can also be seen yelling, “We’re not ready!” at Rick after the fearless leader seemingly lets a group of Alexandrians know that it’s time to face off against the massive zombie herd invading the community.

“How many more of us have to die before we do something?” Ethan Embry’s character can be heard saying in a voiceover. Unfortunately for Rick, the newcomer isn’t the only Alexandrian who questions his leadership role. You can check out The Walking Dead Comic-Con trailer below.

It looks like the main purpose of Embry’s character is to encourage the growth of the Rick resistance movement.

Ethan Embry’s past credits include roles in the movies Empire Records and Can’t Hardly Wait. He currently stars in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, but Once Upon a Time fans will remember him as magic-hating villain Greg Mendell. Embry is actually reuniting with one of his Once costars on The Walking Dead — Sasha actress Sonequa Martin-Green played his lover/partner in evildoing on the ABC TV series. As the Inquisitr previously reported, other Walking Dead cast members who have appeared on Once Upon a Time include Michael Raymond-James and Lizzie actress Brighton Shapiro.

It’s easier for Walking Dead fans to speculate about who Merritt Wever is playing because she’s based on a character that already exists in the comic books. One possibility is that she’ll be playing Denise Cloyd, the love interest of fan-favorite comic book character Heath. Heath makes an appearance multiple times in the trailer above (he’s the guy with dreadlocks and glasses), so it would make sense for Denise to appear on the show, too. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Heath is played by Corey Hawkins, the actor who stars as Dr. Dre in the Straight Outta Compton movie.

In the comic books, Denise is a doctor who wears glasses. At the 3:16 mark in The Walking Dead trailer, there’s a quick glimpse of a woman wearing glasses who is helping an injured man. The woman in question is a bit blurry, but she definitely resembles Merritt Wever. You can see her face on the far left in the screen grab below.

Are you looking forward to seeing Ethan Embry and Merritt Wever on The Walking Dead, and do you think Merritt is playing Denise Cloyd? The Walking Dead season 6 will premiere on October 11 on AMC.

[Image credits: Brad Barket, Alberto E. Rodriguez]