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ARROW’s Marc Guggenheim Talks H.I.V.E. Storyline, THE FLASH Crossover, Whether Ray Palmer Becomes Atom And More

With Arrow‘s third season making its highly anticipated premiere next week, we have some new details on what to expect from the show’s future this year. Speaking with Collider while promoting the hit CW series, writer and executive producer Marc Guggenheim discusses what to expect from this season of Arrow. When asked if new character Ray Palmer – played by former Superman Brandon Routh – will adopt the persona of The Atom, Guggenheim admitted that it was a possibility, but don’t expect it to play out on Arrow. “I think anything is possible. My instinct is that, if Ray Palmer is going to shrink, he’ll probably shrink on another show. With The Flash in existence, there’s no real compelling reason for us to do superpowers on Arrow. We can bring characters to The Flash, to have superpowers. We have plans for Ray that don’t involve shrinking, but our plans for Ray are actually really cool.” Guggenheim confirmed recently that this season of Arrow will return to its grounded roots, even though superpowers have been established. This is sure to confuse some fans, especially with The Flash appearing in Starling City for the anticipated crossover. This decision is likely based on the desire to keep the two shows more different tonally and story-wise.

Speaking of the Arrow/The Flash crossover, Guggenheim shares his excitement for the event, confirming the presence of Captain Boomerang and teasing character interactions. “It’s so freakin’ awesome! It really is. I’ve never had so much fun writing a script before, maybe in my life. It was such a blast to work on. We’re filming the Arrow episode right now, and it’s just so much fun. I keep telling everyone that we should try for Avengers. It’s these two heroes together with a big production value.  We’re blowing out the doors on this. There’s the opportunity for inside jokes, and seeing all of the characters together. What happens when Cisco gets his eyes on Thea? There are moments like that, that you just can’t do in a normal episode. It’s just so much fun. It’s really going to be a blast. Jesse Warren is directing it, and he is just crushing it. Those dailies are really, really insane. Nick Tarabay plays Boomerang/Digger Harkness, and he’s amazing. And that weapon is a whole new visual language in the show, and a whole new visual language for our stunt guys to work with. And watching Grant [Gustin] and Stephen [Amell] together is just magic.” The two crossover episodes, titled “Flash vs. Arrow” and “The Brave and the Bold,” are expected to air in November.

Talk turns to new developments on what Roy Harper and Thea Queen Merlyn will be at this season. According to Guggenheim, Roy now embraces his role as Arsenal and accepts Oliver as his mentor, and the relationship that began last season will be fully realized here. “I think he’s fine being a part of the team, as he is. We played with that notion of Roy questioning Oliver’s judgement in Episode 218. What you see in Season 3 is a much more mentor/mentee, master/apprentice relationship, which is what we were setting up in 212, but didn’t fully realize. It’s really more fully realized in Season 3. You really see how Oliver is training this kid to be a hero in his own right.” As for when exactly we’ll find out what Thea has been up to since the season two finale, Guggenheim says, “A lesson we learned over Season 2 was that we don’t have to pack everyone into a given episode. As we were breaking this episode out, we discovered that it could be more interesting if Thea, who left town at the end of Season 2, wasn’t around, and it’s part of the mystery. Where is she? She’s not in Starling City. That questions will get answered in Episode 2. You’ll find out where Thea went, at the end of Season 2, and you’ll also find out what exactly was said in that limousine, after that scene ended. The beginning of Episode 3 picks up with Malcolm and Thea in that limo, and you’ll hear the conversation that you didn’t get to hear at the end of Season 2.” 


Finally, Guggenheim is asked whether or not the H.I.V.E. storyline teased last season will be revisited anytime soon. Unfortunately, fans who are looking forward to that are going to have to wait. “There are no plans, at the moment. I know the fans have been waiting for it, ever since we teased it at the end of 206. It keeps coming up in the writers’ room. Like everything else, it will have its day and its time. At the moment, I can’t say that we’ve got the episode where we pick that thread back up, but it’s definitely on our list of things that we want to get to.” For the rest of Collider’s interview with Guggenheim, in which he discusses Season 3’s theme, Olicity, hiring many actors from Spartacus and more, click the link above. Arrow returns to The CW on October 8th.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.