New Details on ARROW’s Next Big Villain and Another New Character for Season 5

Casting is underway for the fifth season of Arrow, which will premiere next fall. Specifically, the season is looking to cast the new big bad, who star Stephen Amell says is not a metahuman. Now, we have details on another new villain, as well as a new recurring character.

According to TV Line, Arrow is looking to cast a role currently named “Anton Church.” The villain is said to be inspired by The Wire‘s kingpin Stringer Bell (played by Idris Elba), while the casting breakdown’s physical prototype mentions Jason “Aquaman” Momoa. Church is described as “…a ruthless crime lord who sets out to fill the sizable void left by Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E..” He is also an “apex predator” looking to take down “the biggest threat first” – aka Oliver Queen, the new mayor of Star City.

TV Line also reveals that Arrow is casting a character described as “…a cocksure/reckless ex-Marine turned vigilante.” The character will have a recurring role in season five. Beyond that, no further details are known. Meanwhile, co-showrunner Wendy Mericle teases the flashbacks for next season, suggesting that we’ll be seeing Ollie in Russia. “It’s a very good possibility that we’ll finally find out how he got that Bratva tattoo and how he learned to speak Russian. When Oliver says, ‘No one can know my secret’ and he kills that guy in the pilot, we’re going to get some insight into that.”

Who do you think these two new characters are? Are they original creations, or are they characters from the comics? Stay tuned for more Arrow news as we have it.