Who would have thought that re-launching the character of Green Arrow after Smallville would have been such a great success? With solid acting (Especially from The CW), sharp choreography, a plot with rich DC Comics lore that keeps you hooked as well as introducing The Flash and launching his own series, the show just seems to be getting better and better. Series writer/producer Mark Guggenheim took some time out of his Arrow-writing schedule to talk with the guys over at Collider about the hit show. Check it out below.
NOTE: Possible SPOILERS ahead.
On more people finding out about Ollie's other half:
I would say that that number is going to go up, before the end of the year. By the finale, more people will know than currently do.
On rather more people knowing is a good thing or a bad thing:
We talk in the writers’ room a lot about, are there too many characters that know and does it diminish the secret identity? Where we have come from is the philosophy that, when members of our cast of characters know, it draws them into Oliver’s world and it draws them into the show more. So, we tend to get more story out of people knowing than people not knowing. You could say that too many people know, but we always use The Dark Knight trilogy as our compass, and a lot of people knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman, particularly by the third movie, and it doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of watching those stories unfold. Obviously, there are different philosophies and different points of view. For us, as writers, we always go towards whatever gives us more story, and more interesting story. For now, at least, certain people knowing is more interesting than certain people not knowing.
On calling Roy "Speedy" in episode 17:
We did it because we want to keep inching Roy towards an Arsenal place. One of the runnings gags is that he keeps getting called Speedy and says, “I don’t like that nickname. Come up with another nickname for me.” When the time is right, eventually the nickname that will stick will be Arsenal, but the time has to be right.
On the status of Slade Wilson's mental state:
We try not to use the “I” word, as it were. He’s clearly not in his right mind, and Episode 18 will give you a lot of insights into what is going on in his head. Episode 18 is called “Deathstroke,” in large part because we really do get a much greater sense of Slade’s agenda and where he’s coming from, but also what’s going on in his head. Hopefully, Episode 18 will answer that, or at the very least, give you a big, new insight into it.
On using Batman characters now that Gotham is out there:
That’s part of the ongoing relationship and discussions that we have with DC. Things have not really changed with Gotham. It’s the same thing that it always is, which is that we have an idea, we go to DC, we talk about it, and we find out where the lines are and which characters are available or not available. I want to manage expectations with respect to Harley Quinn. She was always intended to be an Easter egg. I don’t want people to go in with incorrect expectations and walk away from Episode 16 disappointed. But there is an element to the Easter egg that was not spoiled by the promo, that I think people will find a lot of fun.
For more from Guggenheim, head over to
Collider. For your
Arrow watching pleasure, be sure to catch it every Wednesday on The CW at 8PM PST/EST.