returning show! ARROW
Since its debut, Arrow has grown exponentially in fan popularity, critical acclaim and scope. But showrunner Marc Guggenheim tells SFX that while the show will continue to expand, a part of it could soon get very small. For season three introduces another of Oliver Queen’s longtime allies in the DC Universe, Ray Palmer – best known as that mighty mite, the Atom. In an ironic twist, he’ll be played by one of the taller actors in Hollywood: former Superman Brandon Routh.
“What we’re doing with Ray is consistent with what we’ve always done on the show,” says Guggenheim, who’s also scripting the Digital First comic series Arrow 2. 5. “It’s like Batman Begins – it’s every character’s proto version. Part of the fun is seeing the character before they reach that ultimate comic book trajectory. Our process with Ray will be similar to the process you’ve seen on the show before. In keeping with that, we also sometimes like to surprise the audience and do it in a way that you don’t expect. That’s part of the fun.”
In addition to a mid- season Arrow- Flash crossover and the introduction of another famed character whom Guggenheim is still casting, season three ( which begins approximately five months after season two ended) will feature Tatsu Yamashiro ( played by Sin City’s Devon Aoki), who, in the DCU, becomes the Justice Leaguer Katana.
“We’re going to really open up the flashbacks. For two years we’ve been on an island and a boat. This year we’re in a major city in this foreign land. The scope of it is so much bigger. There’s more characters, there’s more people for Oliver to interact with. Before it was just anyone who was on the island. But that limitation is completely taken off of us with Hong Kong. The flashbacks will find a completely new gear this year. It’s always fun to see someone in the past and someone in the present and see how they’re different.”
“I can’t believe we’re doing this many characters on this show,” adds Guggenheim. “In our wildest fantasies we never imagined we’d do so many characters so quickly. In season three we’ve got more recognisable DC characters than we’ve ever had.”