Though it may not be a big surprise to
keen Arrow fans, Season 3's big villain was
officially unveiled at Comic-Con on Saturday
night.
In an extended trailer shown at a Warner Bros.
fan event, the DC Comics villain Ra's al Ghul was
revealed via repurposed dialogue from the
Season 1 episode "Dead to Rights," in which
Malcolm Merlyn discussed his time in Nanda
Parbat. Hit play below to see (and hear) for
yourself:
The leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's al
Ghul was a looming presence throughout Arrow's
first two seasons, with Malcolm being revealed
as the only person who Ra's had ever allowed to
leave the League. Of course, Ra's came to regret
that decision after Malcolm's role in the
Undertaking, and now Ra's wants to kill Malcolm.
Meanwhile, in Season 2, Oliver learned that not
only did Sara become a member of the League
after getting off the island, she also started dating
Ra's's (worst possessive ever?) daughter, Nyssa al
Ghul. When last we saw Sara, she was leaving
Starling City with Nyssa in the Season 2 finale.
"We wanted to present Oliver with a new
challenge with a villain that would speak to what
Oliver was going through emotionally," executive
producer Andrew Kreisberg explained to TV.com.
"This season, Oliver is wrestling with, 'Is there a
life for me beyond being the Arrow?' What the
Season 3 villain comes to Oliver and says is, 'The
reason you're not fully successful as the Arrow is
because you're holding onto Oliver Queen. I have
let go of my identity and embraced my cause and
you should do the same.' It's a whole new thing
where the enemy actually, in some ways, admires
the Arrow and what he's doing. He just thinks
that the Arrow is thinking too small."
Interestingly enough, the introduction of Ra's al
Ghul in Season 3 might actually force Oliver to
work with the Dark Archer, who took his sister
Thea out of Starling City at the end of Season 2.
"We've already established that the Season 3
villain has a strong animosity toward Malcolm,"
Kreisberg said. "The enemy of my enemy is my
friend. It's going to be a lot of asking, 'Who hates
who more?'"
However, it's not yet clear what the arrival of
Ra's will mean for Sara and Nyssa. "Alliances and
loyalty are another big theme of the season,"
Kreisberg said. "There's another war coming and
whose side people are going to be on is going to
be the thing that drives the season."
Casting for the role is currently underway.
Are you excited to see Ra's al Ghul
on Arrow? Who do you think should play
him?
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