Sky’s hit thriller The Day of the Jackal has delivered its first major casting news ahead of season 2.

Pablo Schreiber (Halo, Orange Is the New Black) and Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You) are joining the espionage drama as series regulars, Deadline reports.

Eddie Redmayne will of course return alongside them as the elusive assassin at the heart of the story, following a breakout first season that proved a critical favourite on both sides of the Atlantic.

Details of Opia and Schreiber’s characters remain under wraps for now. Opia is best known for her award-nominated work as Terry in I May Destroy You, a role that netted her a BAFTA TV nomination for Best Supporting Actress, while Schreiber delivered an Emmy-nominated turn as George ‘Pornstache’ Mendez in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, recently portrayed Master Chief in Halo, and has appeared in series including The Wire, Weeds and American Gods.

The Day of the Jackal is a modern reimagining of Frederick Forsyth’s classic thriller, following a highly skilled lone killer known only as the Jackal (Redmayne) as he navigates a lethal world of high-stakes contracts and global intrigue.

Season 1 concluded on a shocking and divisive note – MI6 agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch) spent the season doggedly pursuing the Jackal across Europe, only for their long-teased confrontation to end in tragedy.

In the finale, Bianca tracked the assassin to his hidden home and was fatally shot by her nemesis after a tense face-off. The Jackal survived and escaped, leaving room for the story to continue – and for season 2 to explore the fallout of that devastating encounter.

Season 2 of The Day of the Jackal does not yet have a release date but is expected to return to Sky and Peacock in the US later this year.

It was previously announced that Ronan Bennett (Top Boy) would be stepping down as head writer for the new episodes to pursue “other commitments”, with playwright and screenwriter David Harrower (Lockerbie: A Search for Truth) hired as his replacement.