Sebastian Roche is sticking around The CW, and this will be very bad news for Klaus.

The actor, who recurred as Balthazar on Supernatural until his death on the May finale, has landed a key season three role on The Vampire Diaries.

According to producer Julie Plec, Roche will come on board as a "mysterious man who appears to be hunting vampires." He'll specifically have Klaus in his sights, which will actually frighten the ancient Original.

"For some reason, Klaus, who shouldn’t be afraid of anybody, seems to be concerned about this person," Plec tells EW.

So, is Roche's unnamed character the major villain on tap for season three? It doesn't sound that way.

”He is big, and he is bad, but I would dare not say if he is the true Big Bad or not, trademark Joss Whedon,” Plec teases. “If you’ve learned anything from the Whedonverse seasonal-structuring school like we have, then there might be some bigger and badder people coming [later].”

Roche, whose impressive resume includes stints on 24, Fringe, General Hospital and Criminal Minds, will show up within the first nine episodes of the new season. Where do you stand on this casting choice?

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.