A key villain has been cast for the sixth run of "Arrow" which will come out later in the fall. Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) may also be together more in the next season.
Executive producer Marc Guggenheim announced at San Diego Comic-Con last July that a new villain going by the name of Richard Dragon would be appearing in the new season of "Arrow." Acclaimed actor Kirk Acevedo has been cast in the role of the antagonist who will have a long-recurring arc as Ricardo Diaz, one of the identities of Dragon.
In the upcoming season, Diaz will be a hardened ex-con who is released from prison for crimes he didn't commit. In the free world, he will take on Star City's criminal underworld with his fighting skills. It is suggested that the Green Arrow (Amell) will have his hands full trying to contain Dragon.
In the comics, Diaz was a crime lord from Seattle and it was his son Ricardo Diaz Jr. who took on the persona of Richard Dragon. His skills included advanced hand-to-hand combat and tactical analysis. He was able to analyze complex combat strategies and adapt accordingly.
In related news, fans of the Oliver–Felicity love pairing can look forward to the new season as the couple will continue to mend their relationship which appeared to be healing at the end of last season.
Guggenheim told Entertainment Weekly recently, "We put them on a very specific trajectory at the end of season 5. It would be very schizophrenic for us to suddenly take them off that trajectory."
Their love affair peaked at the end of the third season but faltered in the middle of the fourth because of trust issues involving Queen's son. It remains to be seen if they will finally get back together in the sixth season.
Season 6 of "Arrow" premieres on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. EDT on The CW.
