John Barrowman Talks ARROW Season 3 And Teases Malcolm Merlyn’s “Resurrection”

After his return at the end of Arrow Season 2, John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn will be a series regular in the third season. There has been much speculation over his role in the series’ third year – from his taking in Thea to an expected reveal of how he survived the Season 1 finale. Now, speaking with Zap2It, Barrowman affirms that he knows much more than he’s able to discuss about Merlyn’s future. “Oh yeah, I know lots. But if I told you, I’d have to send somebody out there to kill you.” The actor follows that with, “I know some of what’s going to happen. And for ‘Arrow’ fans, it’s going to be an amazing Season 3.”

As for how Merlyn apparently died in the Arrow‘s first season finale, Barrowman suggests that the character was never actually dead to begin with. “What you have to understand is that Malcolm Merlyn, he might not have died. He just knows how to do things — in the same realm as ‘Sing Your Face Off’ [Barrowman’s new ABC show] — to do an impression of being dead. It’s not always what it looks like and things are explained later.” In that case, we can rule out a Merlyn resurrection via the Lazarus Pit, which has been a popular theory thanks to the Dark Archer’s League of Assassins connections. It will be interesting to see what exactly goes down this season, as Deathstroke actor Manu Bennett recently suggested that Merlyn will be the big bad once again. Stay tuned for more news as we have it. Arrow Season 3 premieres this fall on The CW.