‘Arrow’ Season 6 Sets Kirk Acevedo as Big Bad Richard Dragon

Arrow had relatively few Season 6 details to tease from Comic-Con 2017 (half the cast is in a state of limbo, after all), but we may finally have our Season 6 big bad. Fringe, 12 Monkeys and overall genre star Kirk Acevedo will play Ricardo Diaz, a spin on DC’s Richard Dragon.

Per Deadline, the season-long recurring role is described as “A hardened ex-con recently released from prison for crimes he didn’t commit, Ricardo Diaz (Acevedo) is bent on taking over Star City’s criminal underworld. A master in hand to hand combat, honed by years of life on the street, Diaz has yet to meet a foe he can’t take down.”

In the comics, Ricardo Diaz was introduced in the “New 52” continuity reboot as student of the original Richard Dragon, subsequently killing his master and taking the name. Acevedo joins LOST alum Michael Emerson as a new villain, along with David Nykl’s return as Oliver’s Bratva rival Anatoly Knyazev.

Elsewhere, Season 6 has already confirmed Katie Cassidy, Rick Gonzalez and Juliana Harkavy will return as series regulars, though executive producer Marc Guggenheim claimed a series regular contract was no guarantee of survival. October 12 premiere “Fallout” has also been said to feature a flashback, and Stephen Amell revealed Manu Bennett will make several return appearances as Slade Wilson.

October is still a ways off, but watch the first trailer below and stay tuned for the latest Arrow Season 6 details.