Season 4 of CW’s tent-pole, Arrow, left much to be desired. The show featured a hot and cold singular villain, but the team of heroes seemed to forget how to be heroes. The season ended on a major fracture in Team Arrow that left us with everyone moving toward leading “normal” lives. There was no more talk of metahumans, no super power injected big bads – just regular folks trying to live life in the new, almost nuclear, Star City.
While the ending left absolutely zero hints at what we can expect by way of a big bad for season 5, Arrow star Stephen Amell did previously say that, “As far as I know, they don’t have superpowers. I’ll tell you that.” His vague statement seems to hint at what could be a return to a villain like we saw with Malcolm Merlyn in season one; which worked quite well, in fact. Toning it down and taking a break from metahumans is a great way for Arrow to find its voice again by returning to what pulled fans in during the earlier seasons.
Now, TV Line is reporting the Arrow powers-that-be are looking to highly acclaimed HBO series, The Wire, for inspiration for their season 5 villain. Star City has had its fair share of cronies (Sebastian Blood) and thugs (Brick), but they’ve never had a true crime lord. Slade Wilson, while fantastic as Deathstroke (and really the best villain Arrow has had), shouldn’t be counted because he was super-fueled by Mirakuru.
The Wire was a melding of critical social commentary and crime thriller that gave us Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), an ambitious man who used his connections in the drug trade to legitimize his enterprise and become a successful businessman. Anton Church is the name (for now) of the “apex predator” that will be muscling into Star City as Oliver Queen steps up as Mayor.
TV Line also noted the role calls for someone that is large and intimidating, with the casting call referencing Jason Momoa’s (Game of Thrones, Aquaman) physique. It is unclear whether or not this “loosely based” Wire villain has any connection to the comics, especially given that producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg veered off cannon long ago.
In addition to the details about Arrow’s new villain, fans can also expect the new face of an “irrepressibly charming” James who seeks vengeance for a loss, a vigilante said to join Oliver Queen in Season 5; and with Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum) getting more screen time as a series regular, perhaps we’ll actually see him emerge as Mr. Terrific.
Next: 12 Things We Want To See In Arrow Season 5
Supergirl season 2 will air at 8pm Mondays on The CW in Fall 2016, The Flash will air in the same timeslot on Tuesdays, Arrow on Wednesdays, and Legends of Tomorrow on Thursdays.
Source: TV Line
