Last week,The CWreleased a new trailer forSeason 4ofArrow, which introduced us to this season’s main villain,Damien Darhk, played byNeal McDonough. Today, the network has released yet another trailer, which teases that the villain has some super-human powers up his sleeve. When Oliver (Stephen Amell) fires an arrow at this villainous character, he merely holds up his hand and stops the arrow dead in its tracks.
In theDC Comics, Damien Darhk’s only “super power” was his “genius-level intellect,” but it seems this character will be getting a super-human upgrade inArrow. At this time, it isn’t known what other powers he may possess, or how he got them, but, there could be an interesting back-story behind his abilities, which was teased last season. Damien Darhk was mentioned byRa’s Al Ghul(Matthew Nable) in a lateSeason 3episode, revealing that Damien also thought he was the true heir to the Demon. Ra’s was tasked with killing Damien, but he allowed him to escape, setting up his debut inArrow Season 4.
As for what happened to Damien after he escaped from Ra’s, that’s anybody’s guess at this point, but we’ll surely find out more about his back story in theSeason 4premiere,Green Arrow, debuting Wednesday, October 7 at 8 PM ET on The CW. Aside from Damien’s appearance, we get plenty more new footage in this trailer, with Damien actually calling Oliver the “Green Arrow,” instead of just Arrow, and Thea (Willa Holland) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) asking Oliver for his help. We also get a brief glimpse at Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who returns as Amanda Waller and Arrow taking a bullet for Diggle (David Ramsey).
In related news,Entertainment Weeklyspoke with executive producerMarc Guggenheim, who revealed that the show will have a much “lighter” tone inSeason 4. The producer explained that the end of Arrow Season 3 was the culmination of this dark tone, with Oliver coming back with “a new outlook on life.” Here’s what the producer had to say below.
“Ever since Slade Wilson [Manu Bennett] came to town around [season 2, episode 15], the show has been on this very, very dark path, leading to Sara’s [Caity Lotz] death and the culmination ofSeason 3. Our goal was to return the show more in the tone of the first season-and-a-half. It still feels likeArrow, but at the same time, Oliver’s got a new outlook on life. We’re driving conflict to the show in ways that we never would have in the first three years. So it still feels like Arrow, but it’s a different take on the show.”
The executive producer also shed some new light on Damien Darhk, revealing he has been operating in Star City for the past three months, after Oliver and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) left town in theSeason 3finale. As we mentioned before, this trailer shows Thea and Laurel asking Oliver to come back asArrow. While the producer doesn’t reveal exactly what happens, he teases that fans will see in the season premiere exactly why Thea and Laurel need his help.
“We’re gonna learn that this villain has been operating in town for the past three months. Team Arrow has basically been trying to keep [him] at bay, but then something happens in the season premiere that’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back and it prompts Laurel and Thea to go find Oliver and get him to return. We played him as a guy who was returning home from war with PTSD for the first three years. Now he’s put those demons to rest, or so he thinks, and there’s a lightness to him as a result of all the things he learned last year.”
Marc Guggenheimalso revealed that Felicity will take over as CEO of Palmer Industries, after the apparent death of Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), while another executive producer Wendy Mericle teases that Oliver is no longer trying to erase his father’s legacy, but rather create his own.Marc Guggenheimconfirmed what many fans were expecting, thatMatt Ryan’s guest-starring appearance as John Constantine in aSeason 4episode will be connected to the resurrection of Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) through the Lazarus Pit.
“[Sara’s resurrection] very much comes about because of decisions that Laurel makes and choices that Laurel will then have to live with. The episodes dealing with Sara’s return are amongst probably the heaviest material that we’ve had for Laurel. We’re using Sara’s return to really get underneath not just Laurel as a person, but the relationship that she has with Thea and the friendship that she has with Oliver.”
Marc Guggenheimalso revealed that Arrow will be going up against another new criminal organization, Shadowspire, lead by Baron Reiter (Jimmy Akingbola), who Oliver will face in Coast City, which is the hometown of Green Lantern.Marc Guggenheimteased there will be a few references to the popular comic book character, including a billboard that “fans will get a kick out of,” and even a ring, which will be seen in theSeason 4premiere. What do you think about all of these new details? Let us know what you think, after checking out the latest trailer.
