The CW’s Arrow saw its climactic second season finale earlier this year with Oliver Queen facing off against his one-time friend turned villain, Slade Wilson, in a battle to save his city. Since season two wrapped up, fans have been eagerly trying to get a hold of any piece of information they can about what’s in store for the upcoming third season. And while some aspects of season three’s story are still being kept a secret, a combination of fan speculation and a few snippets of teaser information here and there from the cast and crew, we’re starting to piece together some of what we have in store.
The Rise of Arsenal
During season two, it was looking a bit touch and go as to whether Roy Harper would be welcomed into Team Arrow or if he’d succumb to the darker impulses brought on by Slade’s Mira Kuru super soldier formula. But the season finale saw him finally pick up a bow, don a mask and join Oliver. Pictures of Roy in full Arsenal (not Red Arrow as some suspected) costume have now been released so it’s clear we’re going to be seeing a lot more of the new and improved crime fighting Roy, next season.
The Cat & The Canary
With Sara Lance leaving Star City and handing over her leather jacket to her sister Laurel, it has been theorised by fans that Laurel might be taking over the Canary persona to fight crime in Sara’s absence. Actress Katie Cassidy who portrays Laurel on the show has been tweeting pictures of her getting in shape with intense training regimes which lends some weight to the rumours. As does the recent news that actor J.R. Ramirez has been cast as Wildcat, the boxer turned superhero who was one of Black Canary’s trainers in the comics. There has been no confirmation of Laurel taking over as of yet, but there’s no denying the pieces are all there.
The Demon’s Head
His presence has been looming in the background for a while now, but the new season three trailer from the San Diego Comic-Con has now confirmed that Ra’s Al Ghul, head of The League of Shadows, is finally going to be making an appearance. This will be as this season’s villain has yet to be seen, and is certainly fitting after building up the danger of his daughter and their clan of ninjas towards the end of last season.
Father-Daughter Bonding
Unbeknownst to Oliver, his sister Thea has been whisked into the unknown by her biological father and ex-League of Shadows member Malcolm Merlyn. What Thea’s eventual fate will be is one of the larger mysteries left over at the end of season two, but some fans speculate that due to the dark path she is walking down, her connection to Roy and now to the League of Shadows, that she might turn up somewhere down the line as the supervillain Cheshire (an on and off love interest of Roy Harper from the comics). Only time will tell on this one though as it’s not something they’re likely to reveal ahead of time, even if it turns out to be true.
The Missing Years
One of the biggest mysteries of all seasons of Arrow is of course; what exactly did Oliver Queen get up to in the five years between his disappearance and eventual rescue? The big twist at the end of the last season was that Oliver did not actually spend all five years on the island, with season two ending on a flashback of him waking up in Japan. This raises the questions of what exactly he got up to while off the island and more importantly, how did end up back there?
New Faces
Aside from the previously mentioned Wildcat casting confirmation, a number of other new characters, both from the comics and original to Arrow, have been confirmed to be making an appearance in season three. In the SDCC trailer we’re given our first glimpse of Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer, the alter ego of the shrinking superhero The Atom. In the trailer, Palmer seems to be making a play for Oliver’s company, so we’ve had no confirmation as to whether we’ll be seeing him in his superhero persona, but with super powers being introduced to the show’s continuity with The CW’s new upcoming tie-in show The Flash, I would say it’s a safe bet we will. Sin City actress Devon Aoki has also been cast as Tatsu Yamashiro, otherwise known as the Japanese superhero and martial arts expert Katana. With the revelation that some of Oliver’s missing time-line takes place in Japan it seems likely that Katana will play some part in that, but the extent of her involvement is currently unknown. Ex-NYPD Blue and Days of Our Lives star Charlotte Ross is also joining the cast as the mother of fan favourite computer hacker Felicity Smoak, in a Felicity centric episode titled Oracle (a title sure to catch the attention of any Batman fans out there). Little of Felicity’s backstory has been given so far compared to other characters on the show, so fans will surely be excited to know that all will soon be revealed.
So much of what the fans are gearing up for is still predominantly on the speculation side of things, but more and more is being revealed each week and after Comic-Con the anticipation is at an all time high. So whether the predictions do turn out to be true or they surprise us with something different, season three of Arrow is definitely going to be one to look forward to.
Update
In addition to all of the casting and plot announcements, it was confirmed that David Cubitt from Medium will be guest starring as Mark Shaw (one of quite a few characters who have taken up the mantle of Manhunter) in episode three of the upcoming season in which he appears as an A.R.G.U.S agent who will cross paths with John Diggle.
Arrow season three premieres Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 @8pm on The CW.
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