When The Walking Dead starts back this fall for its sixth season, it will be introducing one of the key characters of the comics. AMC's hit zombie drama has cast Corey Hawkins as Heath, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter.

Hawkins next role will be in the NWA biopic, Straight Outta Compton, to be released this summer. In comparison to the story line in the comics, the introduction of Heath has been pushed back quite a bit.

In the comics, the character was first seen just before Rick and his group arrived at the Alexandria Safe- Zone.

Heath was introduced as one of the supply runners in Alexandria and became good friends with Glenn.

In fact, he and Glenn were the first to discover the DC Scavengers, which fans of the television and comic book series believe are the television series' equivalent of The Wolves.

Hawkins is the first confirmed new cast member for the sixth season of the show, and his character is the most recent to join the series, making the crossover from the comic books to the television series.

He joins some other recent additions including Tovah Feldshuh who plays Deanna, Alexandra Breckenridge, playing Jessie, Ross Marquand portraying Aaron, and Seth Gilliam who plays Father Gabriel.

These characters were all introduced to the show during its last season.

Hawkins' casting supports the rumors that there was a casting call for a female character fitting the description of his girlfriend in the comics, Dr. Denise Cloyd.

Fans can also expect some more casting announcements soon, and can look out for the premiere of The Walking Dead Season 6 in October.