Djimon Hounsou has been cast as a series regular on the next installment of Fox’s "Wayward Pines," the network announced today. The psychological thriller event series returns for a second season this summer.

Hounsou will portray C.J. Mitchum, an original resident of Wayward Pines and a historian for the town, with extensive knowledge of its complex origins, and the one person who can provide a unique bridge between the current world of Wayward Pines and the previous world that humans inhabited.

Hounsou joins Jason Patric, who was previously announced in a starring role in season 2.

From executive producer M. Night Shyamalan and based on the world created by author Blake Crouch in his international best-selling series of books, the 10-episode, second season will pick up after the events of season one, with the residents of Wayward Pines battling against the iron-fisted rule of the First Generation. As events unfold in Wayward Pines, the thoughtful and philosophical Mitchum – a former teacher – makes a decision that will affect the fate of Wayward Pines and every resident living there.

Hounsou next co-stars as “Chief Mbenga” in the upcoming feature film “Tarzan,” set for release this summer, and director Guy Ritchie’s “Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur.”