Arrow Season 5 Casting: Vigilante Uprising

Jun 25, 2016

Star City Mayor, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) will find himself partnering up with new District Attorney Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra) this fall. Their working relationship may take a few step backs when Oliver learns about his D.A.’s alter ego, the Vigilante. Does every Star City D.A. get frustrated enough by the justice system that they take matters into their own hands? According to Deadline, “Vigilante first appeared in the 1983 New Teen Titans Annual #2. A New York City district attorney whose family was killed by mobsters, Chase sought justice in his own way.” Arrow season five theory spiral time! Russian Bravta flashbacks are finally coming, so to connect Oliver’s island past with his Star City present day, have Chase’s family be killed by the Bravta. More importantly, Bravta Oliver was involved with the hit. The flashbacks need to dove-tail back to the man we met in season one, an assassin fueled by both rage and guilt. I am curious to see if the Arrow writers are able to parallel Adrian Chase more with flashback Ollie, while his crime fighting tactics diverge from Green Arrow’s in the present day. Segarra has signed on as a series regular, unlike some other up and coming Star City vigilantes.

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According to a report from Variety, actress Madison McLaughlin will reprise her role as Evelyn Sharp beginning in episode 5×02. In “Canary Cry” Evelyn stole the Black Canary ensemble after Laurel Lance’s abrupt death in the previous episode. Oliver is able to convince the troubled teen that her tactics against Darhk are dishonoring the Black Canary’s legacy as a hero. So, Evelyn may have put one mask down, but crime-fighting adrenaline seems to be an addiction. This season Oliver will continue to guide Evelyn’s vigilante path under her new codename, Artemis. Who is Green Arrow without a rebellious sidekick? He may actually have three sidekicks by midseason. Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) is set to return for an undetermined amount of episodes; probably with a disgruntled Thea Queen (Willa Holland) in tow. Arrow season five including an Artemis live-action debut is a good choice considering she is a female vigilante with a wayward sense of justice. Plus, this addition feels like a natural progression for Green Arrow’s sidekick; we began with Arsenal, then Speedy, now Artemis… good things tend to come in three; I think.

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Star City will have no shortage of reckless vigilantes attempting to clean up the streets this season. According to EW actor, Rick Gonzalez (Mr Robot alum) will appear in multiple episodes as the DC Comics character Wild Dog. Hopefully this character will have a bigger impact on this season’s arc than Wildcat in season three. Wild Dog aka, Jack Wheeler is a Marine with his own heartbreaking story that has sent him down his own dark path. There’s an opportunity for the Arrow writers to parallel Wheeler’s own grief over his girlfriend’s death with Oliver’s pain over Laurel’s death; both seem to have been needless actions. In addition, Wheeler’s time as a Marine could tie-in to Diggle’s season five arc, considering during the closing sequence in “Schism” (4×23), he reenlisted. More importantly in Infinite Crisis, Wild Dog teams up with Vigilante to take on the Secret Society of Supervillians. I really hope the writers use this character in the same manner that Anarky (Alexander Calvert) appeared in season four. Have him be a wildcard (pun intended), only this time on our side. Between Artemis, Wild Dog, and Vigilante this season might instill a “vigilante of the week” framework every episode.

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Enter our Arrow season five villain, Tobias Church. According to IGN the character is “looking to unite the various criminal enterprises in Star City under his own singular command.” Sounds like a good juxtaposition to Oliver’s desire for organized vigilantism in Star City. Plus, the added potential tie-ins to our hero’s own involvement with organized crime, while working for the Bravta in Russia. A few weeks ago the casting description for Tobias Church referenced Stringer Bell, now Idris Elba is busy these days, but fellow The Wire alum Chad L. Coleman is available following his departure from The Walking Dead in season five. This casting has me really intrigued considering Coleman’s previous work as gentle giant like characters; it’s a complete acting turn that I’ll be looking forward to seeing. After attempting to introduce magic into the DC universe we are returning back to the Green Arrow facing off against street level villains in his city. I hope the Arrow writers return to using the midseason finale to reveal Team Arrow’s real enemy.

Arrow Season four review
Arrow returns to the CW on Wednesday, October 5th at 8pm ET/PT

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