Dan Feuerriegel of  Spartacus: Blood and Sand fame has been cast as the new EJ in Days of Our Lives, last played by James Scott in 2014. Feurriegel’s casting, which was rumoured for a while, is now confirmed.

In Scott’s final episodes as the character, EJ was presumably shot to death by his disloyal henchman, but it was eventually revealed that he was actually alive. He was later left severely injured in an explosion and since then had been recuperating in Europe.

Feuerriegel’s first episode airs Wednesday, June 9 on NBC. Days of Our Lives, produced by Corday Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television, was recently picked up for two more years, which will take the soap through record 57th and 58th seasons.