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UPDATE: An extended version of the Arrow season-three trailer debuted Saturday revealing the main villain.
Arrow made a splash at Comic-Con with the very first footage for the third season — and boy, is it a doozy.
During Friday’s panel session in Ballroom 20, the raucous crowd got an epic first look at the new season for The CW comic-book drama featuring the introduction of Brandon Routh‘s Roy Palmer/The Atom, Karl Yune as Maseo and the return of John Barrowman‘s Malcolm Merlyn. Colin Donnell will also appear in the second episode in a flashback delving into Tommy’s history with Oliver.
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Other notable moments from the trailer include the Hong Kong flashbacks, Oliver and Amanda Waller’s backstory, Oliver and Felicity’s anticipated first official dinner date and a bloody Felicity lying on a slab, which elicited audible gasps. About that last scene? Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg joked, “She had a little booboo.” (Season three’s first look begins at around the one-minute mark.)
One of the themes for season three is “at what price is victory”? When the show picks back up again, “everyone’s enjoying the peace,” Kreisberg said. “As Marc [Guggenheim] says, everything is coming up Arrow.” Kreisberg referenced Joss Whedon as a starting point for how to successfully take happiness away from characters.
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As previously reported, The Flash and Arrow will have a two-hour crossover event during the shows’ respective eighth episodes, with Felicity making an appearance in Central City in episode four of the spinoff.
The panel, which included executive producer Greg Berlanti along with stars Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Colton Haynes, Willa Holland, Barrowman and Paul Blackthorne, was relatively mum with spoilers but here are some season-three teases.
“Olicity” date goes “horribly” wrong: Guggenheim hinted that Oliver and Felicity “go for Italian.” Berlanti insisted that producers “weren’t trying to fake anybody out with Oliver’s confession to her at the end of last year, so we’ll deal with that directly this year.” Amell hinted that the date goes “horribly.”
Roy-Oliver hiccups: Roy is finally in sidekick mode, but producers reaffirmed that there will be some obstacles in the way. Amell said that with Roy by his side as he works his way to Arsenal, Oliver has become more humorous and sarcastic, classic elements of the character “that we’re building toward.” Amell noted that there will be “unresolved issues” from last season with Roy that are still bubbling under the surface.
Thea’s journey: “Thea is going through something pretty crazy,” Holland said. “All I can say is I’ve been hitting the gym a little bit.”
Diggle leaving Team Arrow?: Ramsey hinted that with Diggle’s impending fatherhood, “the stakes get higher” with a child in tow. “Does he stay with the team? Does he leave?” he teased.
Felicity’s backstory coming: An early episode of season three will have Felicity-centric flashbacks that will delve into her M.I.T. backstory. The title of said episode is “Oracle.”
Routh’s introduction: Kreisberg noted that producers wanted to bring in a “lighter” external character to come into Starling City and work opposite Oliver, which was why they decided to bring in Routh as Ray Palmer.
Email: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
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