CW's "Arrow" series

Arrow Is Casting A Manhunter Craig Byrne August 17, 2012

An interesting Tweet came from actress Ashley Scott this afternoon:

@iamAshleyScott: Reading for @DCComics show #Arrow today. So excited about stepping into Kate Spencer’s shoe’s.

For one, this is interesting because Ashley Scott played Helena/the Huntress in The WB’s short-lived Birds Of Prey adaptation. That show also had a Black Canary, so it all comes together, in a way. Note that although the tweet says that she did a reading, we’re not sure that means that she has been confirmed for the role. (As I’m not an actor, I’m not sure where “reading for” falls into the process… maybe it’s just an audition?)

Even more interesting is that Kate Spencer is another character from the DC Universe – federal prosecutor by day, and vigilante “Manhunter” the rest of the time. This version of the character first appeared in Manhunter #1 back in 2004. Arrow’s Marc Guggenheim wrote Manhunter in DC’s later issues of Justice Society Of America.

You know, I’d watch a Manhunter TV series… just saying.

We should also point out that even with Kate Spencer coming on to Arrow, that doesn’t guarantee her scarlet alter ego will come into play. After all, it’s doubtful that Arrow’s Felicity Smoak will actually be Ronnie Raymond’s stepmother. It’s still a cool reminder of the larger DC Universe that the Arrow producers are playing with.

No word on when Kate Spencer is coming on to the show, but we’re assuming from the timing that the auditions are for Episode 5 or 6.

Arrow Adds The Huntress by Silas Lesnick August 21, 2012 Share this story

Jessica De Gouw has been cast as the DC Comics heroine

The series set to premiere on The CW in October, EW has learned that Arrow has made plans to add another popular DC Comics character to its cast, at least temporarily. Actress Jessica De Gouw will play The Huntress in a multi-episode arc.

Dating all the way back to Sensation Comics #68 in 1947, The Huntress has been reinvented quite a few times over the years. The magazine says that this take will be the Helena Bertinelli version of the character (who debuted in 1989) and that the casting occurred with the following official character description:

"Helena is a potential love interest for Oliver Queen; a fellow vigilante, set on destroying her father’s organized crime empire. But Helena’s blind pursuit of revenge will put her on a collision course with the Arrow"

An alternate version of the character was the focus of the short-lived live-action television series "Birds of Prey," which ran on the WB in 2002. Ashley Scott played the Helena Wayne version of The Huntress, the Earth-Two daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.

De Gouw joins Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, Colin Donnell as Tommy, Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, with Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen and Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance.

From Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern), Andrew Kreisberg ("Warehouse 13", "Fringe") and David Nutter ("Smallville", "Supernatural", "Game of Thrones"), the hard-hitting action series reinvents the DC hero. After being marooned for five years on a remote island, billionaire Oliver Queen returns home with a mysterious agenda and very lethal new set of skills that he uses in a war on crime.

The series premieres Wednesday, October 10th at 8 PM ET/PT.

In an interview with Zap2it, Arrow executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg have confirmed that we shouldn't hold our breath for the world in the new CW show to ever become as fantastical as that of Smallville. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that fans won't still see some of their favourite comic book characters on the small screen. "What it does is it creates an opportunity for us to reinvent some characters and present them in a non-powers, grounded way," Kreisberg explains.

So, does that mean we'll be seeing powerless versions of Superman and Green Lantern? Thankfully not! "I think as far as those big names like Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne and Hal Jordan and Diana Prince, we're going to shy away from that, especially because we really want to establish Oliver Queen as our hero and our lead," Guggenheim says. "We're not looking to do Justice League as our TV show. We're doing a show called 'Arrow,' which is about Oliver Queen. Anyone who comes into his world will be a supporting character. Those characters aren't supporting characters. Those are leads. So we'll be focusing more on supporting cast in the DC universe. People who come in and complement Oliver, not overtake him."

Guggenheim adds that the reasoning behind this comes from a very specific place. The realistic world and tone set by Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Trilogy. () "Chris Nolan took Ra's al Ghul, somebody who in the comic books literally is immortal and has supernatural elements to his character, and presented him in a more grounded, realistic manner -- took his immortality and gave it a sort of real world twist in 'Batman Begins'," he says. "Same with Bane, who has superpowers in the comic books, is presented as just a man [in 'The Dark Knight Rises']."

non_amos wrote:So I guess then a character like Black Canary is even too far-fetched then? AP, you had a right to 'roll your eyes' in that quote. I read that article at the source & talk about being offended! Even Green Arrow on Smallville worked with 'the supers'. And look at how this prick even reasons Ras Al Ghul in Nolan's films. Remember, even though Ghul is immortal, he died in Batman Begins. Or did he? Yeah, I suppose as far as Nolan is concerned, he did, just like he permanently killed off 'Harvey Two-Face'. But look at how he manipulated that in TDKR. Bruce Wayne's 'hallucination' of Ghul had Ghul basically stating, or asking, about his immortality. But it was presented like a metaphor or something wasn't it?

Apologist Puncher wrote:Wake me when 'Arrow' hits Season 10.....

thecolorsblend wrote:

Apologist Puncher wrote:Wake me when 'Arrow' hits Season 10.....

You're going to be sleeping a long friggin time.

COMIC BOOK MOVIE: One big difference I notice about this show is that in the old comics and cartoons, Green Arrow used to shoot arrows with little boxing gloves on them, but in here you’ve got sequences where there are corpses laying there with arrows protruding from out of them. Is that risky at all? Normally your hero is not going to, even with bad guys, leave them with arrows sticking out of their dead bodies.

ANDREW KREISBRERG: We were just talking in the writer’s room yesterday that that’s another difference between Green Arrow and Batman. The Dark Knight movies make it really clear that there is a line that Batman will not cross, and that is to take a life. We very clearly and very early on establish that our version of Green Arrow doesn’t have such limitations. Is it risky? I don’t know. Honestly we don’t think, “Hey, this is risky, let’s do this” or, “Hey, this is risky, let’s not do this.” I think that’s very dangerous. I think the goal should always be tell the best story you can, be true to that story and don’t think about the risk or the reward, because that just gets in the way of you telling the best story possible. Is it risky? Maybe, but it’s not something that we’re factoring in to our creative decision making. We’re trying to do right by the property and the character.

COMIC BOOK MOVIE: Let’s face it, when you have a guy shooting arrows at people, there are going to be corpses with arrows sticking out of them, so I applaud it.

ANDREW KREISBERG: We don’t think of this as a superhero show, we think of this as a show about a hero and we think about it as a crime drama. A lot of our touchstones for the character were more Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible; those characters that kill when necessary. Oliver is not a murderer, but if deadly force is called for, he will use it.

COMIC BOOK MOVIE: Stephen Amell did this great job of showing two versions of Oliver Queen, but in your mind who is Oliver Queen/Green Arrow? What kind of character is this man?

ANDREW KREISBERG: Honestly that’s the answer we don’t want to give. To us that’s the engine of the show. One of the things we said from the beginning was the show is kind of a mystery; it’s a procedural and the mystery happens to be Oliver Queen. We don’t want to spoil the answer to all those questions in an interview, because that’s really what the series is about, and our hope is that people will tune in to the series to get the answers on who exactly is this guy and what makes him tick. In the first episode we give you a hint, sort of the first chapter of a much larger story in the evolution of how this male Paris Hilton evolves into this cold-blooded fighting crusader. The series will continue the flashbacks that we leave off in the pilot, which is approaching the island; we want people tuning in to see how that transformation takes place. Even in the second episode, we start to deal directly with the question of who is Oliver Queen and of the four different iterations of Oliver Queen you see in the pilot, which is the real one? Who is the true man? We want to let the series answer that question rather than us doing it with a sound bite.

Apologist Puncher wrote:Hey, remember what I said in the 'S.H.I.E.L.D' thread?

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/scifimediazone/news/?a=66538

COMIC BOOK MOVIE: One big difference I notice about this show is that in the old comics and cartoons, Green Arrow used to shoot arrows with little boxing gloves on them, but in here you’ve got sequences where there are corpses laying there with arrows protruding from out of them. Is that risky at all? Normally your hero is not going to, even with bad guys, leave them with arrows sticking out of their dead bodies.

ANDREW KREISBRERG: We were just talking in the writer’s room yesterday that that’s another difference between Green Arrow and Batman. The Dark Knight movies make it really clear that there is a line that Batman will not cross, and that is to take a life. We very clearly and very early on establish that our version of Green Arrow doesn’t have such limitations. Is it risky? I don’t know. Honestly we don’t think, “Hey, this is risky, let’s do this” or, “Hey, this is risky, let’s not do this.” I think that’s very dangerous. I think the goal should always be tell the best story you can, be true to that story and don’t think about the risk or the reward, because that just gets in the way of you telling the best story possible. Is it risky? Maybe, but it’s not something that we’re factoring in to our creative decision making. We’re trying to do right by the property and the character.

COMIC BOOK MOVIE: Let’s face it, when you have a guy shooting arrows at people, there are going to be corpses with arrows sticking out of them, so I applaud it.

ANDREW KREISBERG: We don’t think of this as a superhero show, we think of this as a show about a hero and we think about it as a crime drama. A lot of our touchstones for the character were more Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible; those characters that kill when necessary. Oliver is not a murderer, but if deadly force is called for, he will use it.

COMIC BOOK MOVIE: Stephen Amell did this great job of showing two versions of Oliver Queen, but in your mind who is Oliver Queen/Green Arrow? What kind of character is this man?

ANDREW KREISBERG: Honestly that’s the answer we don’t want to give. To us that’s the engine of the show. One of the things we said from the beginning was the show is kind of a mystery; it’s a procedural and the mystery happens to be Oliver Queen. We don’t want to spoil the answer to all those questions in an interview, because that’s really what the series is about, and our hope is that people will tune in to the series to get the answers on who exactly is this guy and what makes him tick. In the first episode we give you a hint, sort of the first chapter of a much larger story in the evolution of how this male Paris Hilton evolves into this cold-blooded fighting crusader. The series will continue the flashbacks that we leave off in the pilot, which is approaching the island; we want people tuning in to see how that transformation takes place. Even in the second episode, we start to deal directly with the question of who is Oliver Queen and of the four different iterations of Oliver Queen you see in the pilot, which is the real one? Who is the true man? We want to let the series answer that question rather than us doing it with a sound bite.

It's funny, but the more these idiots talk, the less I could care about this show.

And I never cared about this show.

thecolorsblend wrote:On the subject though, I saw an interview with some asswipe involved with the show a few days ago. Meant to post it here but (A) I hate this show and everything it stands for (B) this thread isn't much higher on my list of beloved items and (C) someone else may have already done it and I'm just too apathetic to have a look. But anyway. It was along the lines of "I don't even think of it as a comic book series. Because it really isn't. What I think we're doing is making a crime/thriller series... with a superhero in it". What I take from that is "hey, you know all the stuff people loved the most SV and the Avengers? The fantastical, shared universe vibe that made buckets of money for both of them? Well, we hate money, absolutely fucking hate money, the idea of a full bank account just makes all of us sick to our stomachs, okay, so what we're doing is steering clear of that bullshit. Who wants to be part of a proven successful formula, right? Y'know what I mean?"

Arrow Episode 6 Title Confirmed!

CRAIG BYRNE

GreenArrowTV has gotten confirmation that the sixth episode of Arrow will be called “Legacies.”

(Hard to believe that Episode 6 is soon to shoot, with 6 out of the 22 titles now known, right?)

This is suspected to be the episode that features the first appearance of Jessica De Gouw as Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress.

You can find more spoilers for Arrow Season One at GreenArrowTV’s Arrow Spoilers Page.

ARROW Executive Producers On HUNTRESS And Other DC Characters

Someone will figure out Oliver Queen's secret identity pretty early on says executive producer Gregg Berlanti,but who is the question? Plus,are there any DC characters off the table for cameo appearances? Mark Julian - 9/10/2012

The promo material for CW's Arrow looks promising and the early reviews of the pilot episode have all been positive making a show that was met with skepticism when first announced, one of the must-see-shows premiering this Fall. One thing comic book fans are especially anticipating is discovering exactly who and how their favorite DC characters are being incorporated into the show. Recently, TV-Guide caught up with Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim and Gregg Berlanti to try and get the scoop.

On Huntress. "She's going to be a match for [Oliver], both in skill and in matters of the heart. It's a new take on The Huntress that no one has ever seen, but definitely feels Arrow-fied for our world." - Kreisberg

On Firestorm step-mom, Felicity Smoak. "On our show, she's a brilliant IT girl at Queen Consolidated and she's become a little bit of Oliver's unknowing Scooby gang," Kreisberg says. "She's brilliant, but tough and sarcastic and doesn't relate well to people. Oliver is constantly coming to her for computer problems, and whether she knows it or not, she's actually helping him solve some of the cases." - Kreisberg

On Green Arrow's secret identity and if his sister, he jokingly referred to as 'Speedy' will be the one that finds out. "Oliver shares his secret with someone pretty early on," Berlanti says. "That becomes a part of the debate of what is he doing and what tactics is he using and is he crossing the line?"

"You're certainly welcome to hope (that it's Thea Queen, played by Willa Holland)," Kreisberg says. "The Oliver-Thea relationship has its ups and downs and it's one of the most complicated relationships we have on the show," Guggenheim adds.

Which DC characters can appear on the show? "Aside from the characters that wouldn't fit into our conception of Oliver's world, like some of the more fantastical aliens or superpowered people, everybody is really sort of up for grabs." -Kreisberg

Of course, there's also Deadshot, Deathstroke, China White and a rumored appearance by Green Arrow mentor, Merlyn to also look forward to; as well as a slew of Green Arrow support characters also set to appear on the show. The producer trio also stated that one character who won't rush to don superhero tights or rather fishnet stockings will be Dinah Lance aka Black Canary, played by Katie Cassidy. It will be interesting to see if she's aware of the (implied above) romance between Oliver and Huntress or if she's even aware that Oliver is Green Arrow. For a show that's deciding to take a sharp left from Smallville it would certainly help to not have a Clark Kent/Lois Lane type relationship between it's two main stars.

Arrow premiers October 10th on the CW.

A Gundam Pilot Appears In Arrow Episode 4

CRAIG BYRNE

Kirby Morrow has had many roles in his career; past live-action credits include Fringe and Stargate: Atlantis. Vocally, he was the voice of Cyclops/Scott Summers in X-Men: Evolution and Goku in the Canadian dub of Dragon Ball Z. My personal favorite Kirby Morrow role —and the reason I’ll always recognize his name —was Trowa Barton, one of the five Gundam operators in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

What does this have to do with Arrow?

Morrow is appearing in the fourth episode of the series, which is titled “An Innocent Man.” His character’s name is “Matt Istook,” and that’s about all we know about it. Assuming no schedule changes, Arrow Episode 4 will likely air October 31.

Jeffrey Nordling To Play Helena Bertinelli’s Dad On Arrow

CRAIG BYRNE

Danielle Turchiano at Examiner.com has broken the scoop that another 24 veteran will be showing up on Arrow.

Jeffrey Nordling, who also starred on Once And Again with Arrow’s Susanna Thompson, will be playing crime boss Frank Bertinelli, father of Helena (The Huntress). The Examiner piece says that it happens in Episode 7, so, it stands to be assumed that Episode 7 is indeed the episode that introduces The Huntress to Arrow.

Multiple members of the Arrow cast and crew took to Twitter yesterday about meeting Jessica de Gouw, who is playing the Huntress, which could further back up that Episode 7 claim.

You can read more details about Nordling’s character at Examiner.com.

DC To Launch Arrow Digital Comic Series

CRAIG BYRNE

If you want to read some Green Arrow comics that tie into the TV series, you’re in luck.

CBR revealed today that DC Comics will be launching a digital-first Arrow comic book series to tie in with the TV show beginning on Wednesday, October 10.

The series, much like Smallville Season 11, will sell at 99 cents per chapter and then be collected monthly into printed editions. The first print edition will hit comic book shops on November 28, according to the article. Stories will tie directly into the show.

China White is already set for an appearance in Chapter 3, and future guest appearances go under the same criteria as they would for the show itself —it will only happen if it works within the world of Arrow.

Executive Producers Andrew Kreisberg and Mark Guggenheim will be writing the Arrow comics, and legendary Green Arrow artist Mike Grell writes Chapter 1. After that, Sergio Sandoval and Jorge Jimenez take over on the art.

An interview with Marc Guggenheim about the comic can be found here, and when the series begins, you will find announcements here and on the @GreenArrowTV Twitter feed. The stories will be posted onto ComiXology, so you might want to bookmark that one as well.

Geoff Johns Is Co-Writing Arrow’ s Huntress Episode;

CRAIG BYRNE

DC Entertainment executive Geoff Johns, who also happens to be writing the best-selling Justice League and Aquaman comics for DC, has Tweeted that he is one of the co-writers, with Executive Producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, of the seventh episode of Arrow. The episode has started shooting and is the one that will bring the Huntress into the Arrow world.

This information was revealed with a Tweet from Mr. Johns:

@geoffjohns: The 1st episode of ARROW I wrote w/ @mguggenheim & @AJKreisberg shooting 2day – keep an eye out 4 the Huntress this fall!

And there you have it. Suddenly fanboy anticipation for Arrow Episode 7 just got higher, if that was even possible.

Arrow Episode 7 Title Revealed: “Muse of Fire”

CRAIG BYRNE

Fresh off the revelation that Geoff Johns is one of the co-writers for Arrow Episode 7… now we have a title for the episode, courtesy of Marc Guggenheim on Twitter.

The episode is called “Muse of Fire,” and it is directed by David Grossman. The teleplay is by Geoff Johns and Marc Guggenheim and the story is by Andrew Kreisberg.

Jessica De Gouw appears in the episode as Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress.

You can read more about upcoming Arrow episodes on GreenArrowTV’s Arrow spoilers page.

China White is already set for an appearance in Chapter 3, and future guest appearances go under the same criteria as they would for the show itself —it will only happen if it works within the world of Arrow.