Even as The Walking Dead continues to set ratings records halfway into season 5, the forces behind the show are already planning to expand The Walking Dead universe well beyond Robert Kirkman’s comic book series.

We learned as far back as last year that we’d be getting a Walking Dead spinoff series (working title Cobalt), and since that time we’ve learned details like how it will feature a new cast of characters, in surrogate family structure, and how young actors from films like Harry Potter and Into the Storm will be bringing the younger characters to life.

Today The Wrap reports that character actor Cliff Curtis has been cast as the male lead in The Walking Dead spinoff. Here’s a bit more about who he may be playing, based off of character descriptions that leaked earlier:

SEAN CABRERA | A Latino male in his early 40s, Sean is a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life.

According to those same leaked descriptions, Sean will have a smart and rebellious teenage son named Cody to look after. The pair supposedly hook up with a mother and her teenage daughter and son (the already cast Alycia Debnam and Frank Dillane), as well as a more bohemian type woman coming off a bad marriage.

For fans of The Walking Dead, the casting of Curtis as the lead may be a good sign for the series. The actor may not be known by name that well, but a listing of his appearances in films like Training Day, The Last Airbender, Fracture, Blow, and Live Free or Die Hard (and more recently the TV show Gang Related) will usually elicit a positive, “Oh yeah, him…” response from most viewers.

In any event, the spinoff continues to attract a solid (if eclectic) blend of actors – but that still does nothing for the most obvious problem facing the series: establishing its validity and differentiating itself from The Walking Dead. So far, the surrogate family angle has seemed thin; on the other hand, the Walking Dead video games from Telltale Games have made very gripping drama out of similar spinoff approaches.

We’ll keep posted on the status of Cobalt (aka The Walking Dead spinoff) as more info comes to light.