With the astounding success of The CW’s superhero action-drama ‘Arrow‘, it isn’t very surprising to discover that they’re going to be adding a few new characters into the mix! The newest addition to the show is Manu Bennett, who has been featured in such films as ’30 Days of Night’, ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ and Starz ‘Spartacus’ television series. Bennett will be stepping into the rather large boots of Slade Wilson, better known to most comic book fans as DC Comics’ villain Deathstroke the Terminator.
Fans may note that Deathstroke has already made a few brief appearances on the show in flashback sequences, though each time he has been seen he’s wearing his full costume, including his face mask which made the actor filling the role entirely indiscernible. In the comics, Deathstroke is primarily considered a Teen Titans villain, but he has been known to take on various other heroes like Green Arrow and Batman in the DC Universe. Entertainment Weekly reports that Bennett’s first appearance as Slade Wilson will once again see the character in flashbacks; this time stranded on the same island in the North China Sea as our protagonist who has been shipwrecked there for the past five years.
While we’ve seen The Huntress on the show recently, with all these villains popping up lately, shouldn’t our hero be seeing some more allies as well? While the line between ally and adversary is a rather thin one, in this particular case it looks like Oliver Queen will have another bowslinger sharing his screen time soon! According to Zap2it, Arrow series producers are looking to cast an actress to fill the role of Shado. In the comics, Shado is a specially trained martial artist with ties to the Yakuza and a rather interesting past with Oliver Queen. Her distinct dragon tattoo and her mastery of Kyudo, a form of Japanese archery, set Shado apart from the rest and make her a rather deadly combatant. No actress has been cast in the role as of yet, but the character is set to premiere in the show’s 14th episode titled ‘The Odyssey’. While it has yet to be revealed whether the character will be brought in as a friend or a foe, Shado should make an interesting addition to the show’s already well rounded roster of characters.
With Deathstroke and Shado both showing up soon, they join the ranks of Deadshot, Firefly and the Royal Flush Gang as further classic DC Comics’ characters making the jump from the comic pages to the small screen. It looks as though The CW doesn’t want to waste any time bringing in some of the big guns from the DC Universe, unlike their previous DC Comics based series, ‘Smallville’, which took quite a while to expand further outward from Superman’s early origins.
Who do you want to see show up on ‘Arrow’ next? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page!
‘Arrow’ airs Wednesday nights at 8pm on The CW.
