Linda Hamilton joins 'Chuck'

"Terminator" vet Linda Hamilton is joining "Chuck" as our hero's mom, it was just announced at Comic-Con.

She'll play Mary Bartowski, the long-missing mother of Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) in a recurring guest role.

Executive producer Josh Schwartz says the casting was inspired by fan suggestions online.

"She's been such an icon as an action-female badass mom," Schwartz says. "The fans put it out there, and she heard about it, and was like, 'I heard I'm Chuck's mom.'"

Schwartz adds that Hamilton's role will drive the next season.

"It's going to be a huge part of the season, the search for mom, it's going to drive so much of season four," Schwartz said. "Chuck and Morgan are going to be a pretty bad but good spy team."

Hamilton will be briefly introduced in the season opener, which will also include Olivia Munn as a guest star. Isaiah Mustafa (aka "The Old Spice Guy") will also guest star this season.

Both Mustafa and Munn will essentially play the same character, named Greta, a Buy More executive and spy, who will be played by a different actor every week. Male, female, still Greta. Basically, the Buy More is now owned and operated by the CIA.

"They have the most incredible Buy More employees you'll ever see," Schwartz says.

Also, Chuck and Sarah will firmly be a couple this year.

Some bullet points re: Hamilton's role from Warner Bros:

-- "Chuck" fans have long wondered about the circumstances surrounding Chuck and Ellie’s mysterious mother, Mary Bartowski, who disappeared from her children’s lives when they were still young.

-- Hamilton will appear throughout the season, leading Chuck to discover that her life was shrouded in secrets. She was a spy, a CIA agent … and that’s just the beginning. Who is she today? One thing is certain: She’s not the soccer mom who left her children so many years ago.

The "Chuck" panel got underway with a video of Jeffster performing Lady Gaga, with the crowd going nuts, followed by the cast throwing T-shirts to the crowd.

"We had the idea of doing a spin-off series of Jeffster on the run," Schwartz said. "Needless to say these guys are a huge part of the show and we can promise you they will be back."