The Strangers writer-director Bryan Bertino's new nightmare The Dark & the Wicked has just snagged it's cast in the form of Marin Ireland (The Miseducation of Cameron Post), Michael Abbott Jr. (The Death of Dick Long), and Xander Berkeley (The Walking Dead). Bertino's new film follows the tale of terror centering on two siblings who are summoned back to the family farm to await the inevitability of their father's death, and what initially appears to be a timeless ritual of loss and remembrance turns out to be something very different.

While this has not been confirmed, I can only imagine that Ireland and Abbott Jr. will be playing the siblings mentioned above while Berkeley will be portraying the family patriarch at the end of his life. But again, this has not been confirmed at this time.

One of the main reasons I'm excited about today's news is the inclusion of actor Xander Berkeley. The man is a genre favorite of mine having starred in such horror hits as writer-director Bernard Rose's adaptation of Clive Barker's Candyman opposite Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen, and as Magistrate Hale in the Salem TV Series.

But the man is also well-known outside the realms of horror for such hits as Wolfgang Petersen's "Die Hard on a Plane" flick Air Force One starring Harrison Ford as The President of the United States vs. Gary Oldman's Russian terrorist. And let's not forget his role in writer-director James Cameron's mega-budget follow-up to his hit cult classic The Terminator with Terminator 2: Judgment Day back in 1992. Berkely starred in that flick as Edward Furlong's foster father who gets the blade through the milk jug (and skull). All that said, the man is perhaps best known as Gregory on The Walking Dead.

For those who might not know, The Dark & The Wicked marks the fourth feature film by writer-director Bryan Bertino. Yes, the man is most famous for helming the home invasion horror film The Strangers starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, but Bertino has also been the maniac behind the camera for flicks such as The Monster starring Zoe Kazan and Ella Ballentine, and the underappreciated found footage flick Mockingbird starring Alexandra Lydon, Todd Stashwick, and Audrey Marie Anderson. He also produced and penned the screenplay for the recent hit sequel to The Strangers, director Johannes Roberts's The Strangers: Prey at Night starring Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison, and Lewis Pullman.

On top of writing and directing this new film, Bertino will be producing The Dark & The Wicked as well along with Adrienne Biddle (He's Out There, Stephanie), Sonny Mallhi (House at the End of the Street, Hell Is Where the Home Is), and Kevin Matusow (The Blackcoat's Daughter, The Quiet Ones). Mike Scannell, Carissa Buffel and Steven Chester Prince, John and James Short, Brian Dalton, and Milan Chakraborty are serving as the new horror movie's executive producers while Lynn Andrews, Julie Oliver-Touchstone, Tom Nowicki, and Ella Ballentine co-star. The film is currently shooting in Texas so we can expect to start seeing some stills and footage from the flick coming soon here, I think. We'll keep you guys up to date. This casting update comes to us via Deadline.