One of the biggest casting questions of Star Trek: Discovery‘s second season has been addressed today, as CBS has revealed who will don the famous pointed ears of Enterprise science officer Spock in 2019: the answer is actor Ethan Peck.

The 32-year-old Los Angeles native, grandson of legendary Hollywood actor Gregory Peck, will take on the role of Michael Burnham’s foster brother — and future Star Trek legend — Mr. Spock in the upcoming second year of Discovery, following in the footsteps of Zachary Quinto (who was the second primary actor to inhabit the role in the Kelvin Timeline films), and of course, the man who began the character, the late Leonard Nimoy.

In terms of the actor’s age, Peck is only two years younger than when Nimoy first portrayed Spock in “The Cage” (which filmed back in 1964) — and with Discovery set within just a few years after the events of that classic episode, he seems be a timeline-appropriate choice of casting by the studio — and by the Nimoy family, who tweeted out a photo welcoming the actor to the franchise just moments after the official announcement.

CBS released this statement on Peck’s casting, from Discovery executive producer Alex Kurtzman:

“Through 52 years of television and film, a parallel universe and a mirror universe, Mr. Spock remains the only member of the original bridge crew to span every era of Star Trek,” Kurtzman said. “

The great Leonard Nimoy, then the brilliant Zachary Quinto, brought incomparable humanity to a character forever torn between logic and emotion. We searched for months for an actor who would, like them, bring his own interpretation to the role. An actor who would, like them, effortlessly embody Spock’s greatest qualities, beyond obvious logic: empathy, intuition, compassion, confusion, and yearning.

Ethan Peck walked into the room inhabiting all of these qualities, aware of his daunting responsibility to Leonard, Zack, and the fans, and ready to confront the challenge in the service of protecting and expanding on Spock’s legacy. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to welcome him to the family.”

Ethan Peck’s most prominent recent roles have been on the 10 Things I Hate About You television series, as well as stints on Gossip Girl and CBS’s Madam Secretary.