After the awesome reveal on Friday that Deathstroke would appear on the series as early as the show’s fifth episode, the cast of The CW’s Green Arrow adaptation ‘Arrow’ took the stage at New York Comic-Con 2012 to preview new footage, answer fan questions, and elaborate on the direction of the series.  Already, ‘Arrow’ has proved a huge win for The CW, as its most watched premiere in years, so what did the cast and crew have to say?

From the very beginning we were treated to an all-new sizzle reel for the series, which not only gave us our first look at The Royal Flush Gang as hockey mask-wearing bank robbers, but also our first look at Deathstroke in motion!  Deathstroke will make his appearance in the fifth episode, while The Royal Flush Gang will debut around the seventh.

So what did we learn from the panel itself?  Here’s what series stars Stephen Amell, Willa Holland, Katie Cassidy, and executive producer Marc Guggenheim had to say:

  • Amell described a bit of his archery training for the role, which included a 45 minute video of where archery had been poorly portrayed in movies and TV past, which has come to be called “Legolas-ing.”  As “Speedy,” Willa Holland is eager to pick up a bow and arrow, and would be fine as an incarnation of the DC character Artemis.  Guggenheim remarked that one of his favorite references was cut from the pilot, which would have seen Thea using an Archery trophy to crush the pills her and her friend were seen with.
  • On the subject of Speedy, Guggenheim says that they’ve certainly developed ideas about the Roy Harper character, but wouldn’t say how he could be included on the show.
  • Mum’s the word still on John Barrowman’s character, but Guggenheim describes him as “A change agent” for the series, who has a ripple effect on every character he interacts with.
  • Katie Cassidy won’t be donning fishnets just yet, but the show’s third episode would give a sense of what she’s capable of.
  • Similarly, by the seventh episode both good and bad things will develop for Tommy Merlyn, giving future indications of his character.
  • When asked about the seemingly arbitrary change of making Green Arrow’s classic “Star City” into “Starling City,” Guggenheim clarified that “Starling” sounded more realistic and “Nolan-esque” as in the way of Metropolis or Gotham, but said that “Star City” would be considered a nickname for the city.
  • We may see a variation on Green Arrow’s classic boxing glove arrow!
  • We didn’t’ see much of the Royal Flush Gang from the footage, but what we could see of Deathstroke definitely had him interacting with the flashback Oliver, on the island.

That’s all for now, but be sure to check out the preview footage below, and catch the next episode of ‘Arrow’ this Wednesday on the CW!

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