The cast of a new TV show based on the DC Comic hero Green Arrow has been revealed – with The Vampire Diaries star, Stephen Amell, having landed the lead role.
Commissioned by The CW Network, which has already brought us such teen hits as Gossip Girl, 90210 and The Vampire Diaries, Arrow will reinvent a character who had already been introduced in Smallville back in season six.
Amell will play Oliver Queen, billionaire and part-time crime-fighter who hides his secret identity as Green Arrow.
Previous casting leaks from the show revealed that Green Arrow’s long time partner/lover, Dinah Lance (aka Black Canary) will be in the series under the name Laurel, while Green Arrow’s adversary and fellow archer Merlyn will also be reinvented as a former friend of Oliver’s before his disappearance in the shipwreck.
However, fans of the original comic are more nervous about Thea Queen, Oliver’s new sister who was created exclusively for this series. Described as “Lolita-esque,” Thea seems designed more for a show like Gossip Girl than a DC superhero series. But perhaps her inclusion helped sell The CW on a Green Arrow TV series.
Arrow is being written and produced by “Green Lantern” scribes Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, as well as Andrew Kreisberg. David Nutter has recently agreed to direct the Arrow pilot, just as he did for Smallville over ten years ago.
