The Walking Dead casts Jeffrey Dean Morgan's actual wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan, as Negan's Lucille

Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan has long been the bane of The Walking Dead fans, even if the character has undergone a bit of a humanizing arc over the last few seasons. But his infamous killer baseball bat, Lucille, has never left fans' minds. Now The Walking Dead has cast the actual Lucille, whom the weapon is named for, and she's a perfect fit for the role — at least as far as real-world experience goes.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the long-running AMC zombie series has cast actor Hilarie Burton Morgan to play Negan's late wife Lucille ... and she just so happens to be married to Negan actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan in real life. She'll show up in those Season 10 bonus episodes that are more anthological in nature and have isolated characters in order to make production realistic and safer under coronavirus precautions.

Morgan herself has already commented on the news, tweeting out her excitement:

"Been pretty hard to keep this a secret," wrote Morgan. "But I love working with @JDMorgan. I love watching him become #Negan and take on that swagger. And I love the @TheWalkingDead family. They’ve been a part of our family for ages and I’m so grateful for their kindness. Xoxo #hereslucille."

While no details have yet been announced regarding the six new episodes coming as part of Season 10's extension, it seems like Negan and his backstory will get some focused screentime. Lucille canonically died of cancer before the undead became a threat, which means that the character has been living with the tragedy throughout the events of the show. Now fans will get to see, presumably, a little more about the relationship between Lucille and Negan that defined the fan-favorite survivor.

The new episodes of The Walking Dead's Season 10 are set to air in 2021.