TV Line and several other sources have reported that we have a name and a possible description of the Big Bad in ARROW Season 5, due to hit the CW (and Fox 8 here in Australia) in early October 2016. Naturally, there will be spoilers ahead for the end of ARROW Season 4, so read on at your own risk.
Heading for a much more grounded Season 5, following the magic-filled Season 4 and Damien Darhk (source claims that the character will be named “Anton Church,” and is loosely based on Stringer Bell, the part made infamous by Idris Elba in HBO’s The Wire. According to TV Line, the casting notice has him pegged at being an “apex predator” who “cuts his way through the shadows” by taking down “the biggest threat first.” Anton Church is an unknown entity, and is potentially a newly created villain for the series. Either that, or it’s someone even bigger and the CW isn’t willing to let on just yet. The casting references Jason Momoa as a “physical prototype,” and this is in lined with star Stephen Amell’s own knowledge about the villain in Season 5: “As far as I know, they don’t have superpowers. I’ll tell you that.”
There’s also earlier word that an additional recurring character named “James” will be added to the fifth season. The casting call described James as “irrepressibly charming” and “just as easily shake your hand as your best friend or break your neck as your worst enemy — and you never know which one is coming. Either way, he’s more than capable of having a good time as he does it.”
When we left Ollie at the end of the last season (and this is where it gets spoilery), he had decided the accept the role of Mayor of Star City, a role he took on under Judd Winick’s epic run. Fans looking for possible hints of the villain might look towards those issues for some clues.
