'The Originals' season 4 spoilers: 'Sleepy Hollow' grad joins cast; season picks up 5 years after season 3

A "Sleepy Hollow" alum is joining the cast of The CW's "The Originals."

Neil Jackson, who played the role of Abraham Van Brunt, Ichabod's (Tom Mison) friend-turned-enemy, in 10 episodes of the Fox supernatural drama "Sleepy Hollow," is boarding "The Originals" in a recurring role. The announcement was made by "The Originals" star Joseph Morgan during Comic-Con last weekend.

According to TVLine, Jackson's "The Originals" character is a vampire named Alistair who will be interacting with Klaus (Morgan). No other details about the role have been revealed.

Apart from his stint in "Sleepy Hollow," Jackson, an English actor and writer, has appeared in other TV shows including "Person of Interest," "Blade: The Series," "White Collar," and "Make It or Break It."

He was also in the films "Quantum of Solace" (2008) and "Push" (2009).

"The Originals" season 4 is expected to bring about major shifts in the lives of the Mikaelson family and those around them. This month, creator Julie Plec confirmed that season 4 will pick up five years after the events in the season 3 finale, with Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) and an older Hope attempting to save and reunite the family.

In the season 3 finale, Hope, Hayley's daughter with Klaus, was still a baby. At the end of the episode, Hayley had taken Hope and four Mikaelson caskets and left New Orleans.

In an interview with TVLine, Plec talked about how the change in season 4 release date gave the show the freedom to shift the story's timeline, hence the five-year time gap.

"When they shifted the air date, it actually gave us the freedom, weirdly, to shift the timeline in our favor so that we could have more time pass in 'The Originals' between seasons than 'The Vampire Diaries,'" she said. "It's actually a good thing. It's positive to not have to worry about being side by side."

At Comic-Con, Tonkin spoke about what the time jump will mean for Hayley and Hope.

"I think it's kind of been Hayley and her daughter for the last five years," the actress told Entertainment Weekly. "And obviously Hope and Hayley have grown a bond, and now she has a daughter who is a little girl and not a baby."

"The Originals" season 4 debuts on The CW in 2017.