"Terminator" vet Linda Hamilton is joining "Chuck" as our hero's mom, it was just announced at Comic-Con.

She'll play Mary Bartowski, the long-missing mother of Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) in a recurring guest role.

Executive producer Josh Schwartz says the casting was inspired by fan suggestions online.

"She's been such an icon as an action-female badass mom," Schwartz says. "The fans put it out there, and she heard about it, and was like, 'I heard I'm Chuck's mom.'"

Schwartz adds that Hamilton's role will drive the next season.

"It's going to be a huge part of the season, the search for mom, it's going to drive so much of season four," Schwartz said. "Chuck and Morgan are going to be a pretty bad but good spy team."

Hamilton will be briefly introduced in the season opener, which will also include Olivia Munn as a guest star. Isaiah Mustafa (aka "The Old Spice Guy") will also guest star this season.


Both Mustafa and Munn will essentially play the same character. Basically, the Buy More is now owned and operated by the CIA.

"They have the most incredible Buy More employes you'll ever see," Schwartz says.

One character is named Greta, a Buy More executive and spy, who will be played by a different actor every week. Male, female, still Greta.

Also, Chuck and Sarah will firmly be a couple this year.

Some bullet points re: Hamilton's role from Warner Bros:

-- “Chuck” fans have long wondered about the circumstances surrounding Chuck and Ellie’s mysterious mother, Mary Bartowski, who disappeared from her children’s lives when they were still young.


-- Hamilton will appear throughout the season, leading Chuck to discover that her life was shrouded in secrets. She was a spy, a CIA agent … and that’s just the beginning. Who is she today? One thing is certain: She’s not the soccer mom who left her children so many years ago.

The "Chuck" panel got underway with a video of Jeffster performing Lady Gaga, with the crowd going nuts, followed by the cast throwing T-shirts to the crowd.

"We had the idea of doing a spin-off series of Jeffster on the run," Schwartz said. "Needless to say these guys are a huge part of the show and we can promise you they will be back."

According to a Chuck insider, Richie will resurface in October when a prison transfer goes awry and her character, Heather Chandler, ends up being stowed away at Castle (a.k.a. the underground CIA base). But here’s where things get really interesting: I’m told her arrival dovetails with some serious bumps in Chuck and Sarah’s deepening relationship. And you better believe that Ms. Heather will use that rift to her advantage.

“We’re always looking for guest stars who will be great in the part, but who also speak to our audience and feel like it comes out of the universe of our show,” says exec producer Josh Schwartz. “If Chuck and Morgan were watching Chuck, they would be excited about Linda coming on board.” Adds fellow EP Chris Fedak: “Chuck was certainly a Terminator fan, and Morgan was a Beauty and the Beast fan.”

But it started off with a terrific video of Jeffster dancing to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," followed by the entire cast dancing out on stage and throwing "Nerd" T-shirts (designed by "Chuck" star Zachary Levi) to the audience