"There's been a bit of misinformation printed out there and what I would say is, yes, Caity Lotz is joining the show in a recurring role and we're really excited," executive producer Andrew Kreisberg tells us. "She's a tremendously talented actress. The character she's playing is really the beginning of the story of the Black Canary."
The fact that Lotz's character, whose name Kreisberg declined to reveal, has a connection to the Black Canary has worried fans who believed that Katie Cassidy's Laurel Lance would fill that role, as the comics dictate. But Kreisberg wants to set the record straight. "The character that Caity is portraying is the beginning of the Black Canary story and we're really excited for the fans to go on the journey with us," he says. "So much of our show is about defying expectations, meeting expectations and exceeding expectations, and we really want our fans to experience the show by watching it and enjoying it and enjoying all the twists and turns and surprises the way we intend."
Kreisberg likens the Black Canary's journey to other characters that the show has already introduced with a twist. "Everything about our show is about origins and evolution," he says. "When we met Deathstroke, everyone automatically assumed it was Slade Wilson [Manu Bennett] in the mask, but then we revealed we met Slade Wilson later. With Tommy [Colin Donnell], we thought that that was Merlyn, but Tommy was really the beginning of the Merlyn story because we saw how it evolved to John Barrowman and beyond. Oliver [Stephen Amell] himself, when we first meet him, he's not the Green Arrow yet. The series itself is an evolution of this character."
Read Full Article @TV Guide
The fact that Lotz's character, whose name Kreisberg declined to reveal, has a connection to the Black Canary has worried fans who believed that Katie Cassidy's Laurel Lance would fill that role, as the comics dictate. But Kreisberg wants to set the record straight. "The character that Caity is portraying is the beginning of the Black Canary story and we're really excited for the fans to go on the journey with us," he says. "So much of our show is about defying expectations, meeting expectations and exceeding expectations, and we really want our fans to experience the show by watching it and enjoying it and enjoying all the twists and turns and surprises the way we intend."
Kreisberg likens the Black Canary's journey to other characters that the show has already introduced with a twist. "Everything about our show is about origins and evolution," he says. "When we met Deathstroke, everyone automatically assumed it was Slade Wilson [Manu Bennett] in the mask, but then we revealed we met Slade Wilson later. With Tommy [Colin Donnell], we thought that that was Merlyn, but Tommy was really the beginning of the Merlyn story because we saw how it evolved to John Barrowman and beyond. Oliver [Stephen Amell] himself, when we first meet him, he's not the Green Arrow yet. The series itself is an evolution of this character."
Read Full Article @TV Guide
"The Pact's Caity Lotz has, in fact, been tapped for a recurring role on Arrow's second season, but she won't be playing Dinah Drake, TVGuide.com can exclusively reveal."
ReplyDeleteThe Wrap sucks. I knew they must have screwed something up.
Makes more sense now. Good job with the fact checking, The Wrap.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can breathe out a big sigh of relief.
ReplyDeleteNow I really wonder what kind of role does this character have. She's obviously connected to Laurel, to be the "beginning" of what Laurel becomes. Interesting.
But at least we know that it was just The Wrap being The Wrap and that Arrow has not lost its target(har har) quality standards yet.
Looks like TheCrap messed up again.
ReplyDeleteOhhh okay this makes sense now. Hopefully this spreads the news to the other fans who just thought that Laurel would not be Black Canary AT ALL.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Lotz's character will either train Laurel, or be the first Black Canary, and Laurel will take over after she dies.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say I"m disappointed. Laurel sucks the life out of just about every scene she is in. I predict another Felicity situation where Lotz is so well-recieved by the fans that they decide to keep her around. She'll probably be better than Laurel at any rate.
Upvote for that high-quality pun.
ReplyDeleteAwesome news and article. Can't wait to see more of the series and of the background (origin) stories behind the characters. Thank you for the share.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she's Laurel's sister with a recasted actress.
ReplyDeletePossible season 2 finale - Caity Lotz's character dies after Laurel finds out she's Black Canary. Determined to avenge her new best friend, Laurel becomes Black Canary 2?
ReplyDeleteThis does mean all hope for Laurel dying is gone. Here's hoping they give her character a huge overhaul at least.
ReplyDeleteYes, but will the Arrow panel be as awesome now that the crisis has been put to rest?
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts were similar. Laurel and the new girl become good friends and, after a hefty amount of time, the new friend eventually reveals herself to be Black Canary. Black Canary dies and Laurel assumes her identity in honor of her fallen friend. Legacy characters are a big thing in DC comics so a "passing of the torch" situation wouldn't surprise me at all.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention that it would directly parallel Oliver's own past . You could say she would be Laurel's Yao Fei.
ReplyDeleteThere will be less intrigue and subtext but I suppose the bright side is that the issue won't eat up time that can be used to tease other aspects of the new season. It'll be good but it won't be "good theatre" without the drama.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this actually makes more sense :). Good to see them setting the record straight.
ReplyDelete"As well as the fact that something NEEDS to push Laurel towards that worldview"
ReplyDeleteAgreed. She's been nudged in that direction but she's going to need some something (or someone) more direct and a little guidance wouldn't hurt either.
I really don't think Katie Cassidy is that bad at all, it's just that for now she's only been the typical love interest. If this is a separate storyline for her it'll probably give her the opportunity to do much more
ReplyDeleteYeah that was my idea as well: http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/07/arrow-season-2-casting-news-caity-lotz.html#comment-968686242
ReplyDeleteStill no fan of Laurel becoming the BC, but okay, if done right it could work. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's still the big announcement, that might not be related to Lotz, and the sizzle real of episode 2.01 they plan to show at the panel tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI think KC will do better playing the BC than Laurel the lawyer, so I personally am a fan of her becoming the BC.
ReplyDeleteI too hope they give her character a huge overhaul, but if they do and that too doesn't work, then I think they should kill her. They already showed they are capable of doing things their way instead of following the comics (Tommy) and they can do the same for Laurel too.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't change the mix of a bad actress and badly written character. I hope they start working more on LAUREL than on new people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. If the character isn't working then there is no reason to follow to comic book universe. The show often does things with the characters comic fans don't like. I was actually happier with the news before getting confirmation that Laurel would eventually become Black Canary. I guess if worse comes to worse and the character does not get better, they can always have Black Canary go fight crime halfway across the planet and only come back for special occasions.
ReplyDeleteI'm just teasing. I know they will make a great splash at Comic-Con this year. The WB usually does.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible that Laurel already knows her also. She could be a cousin or high school friend or something. I think that would make more sense than to have them instantly bond within the season.
ReplyDeleteSolid point. As a show Arrow has a fairly brisk pace so this makes sense as a way to move things along.
ReplyDeleteShe could work with Laurel at her new job, or they could meet in one of the cases Laurel is assigned to.
ReplyDeleteMake a Spin-Off show for Laurel. She gets her own series to showcase her as Black Canary, and I don't have to see her. It'd be a win-win.
ReplyDeleteIf the Lotz character proves popular she will stick around. Felicity and Slade were never supposed to be regulars but fans loved them so much (more then the regulars the series already had at that point. Except Diggle, he was the breakout favorite since the pilot), so if this new character gets the same reception she won't be going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteWhatever they do with her, they need to sort out whatever issues they have with Laurel. As it is she is the least popular character on the show, even counting original characters specifically made for this show. I kinda don't even want her to become Black Canary because that would mean devoting a lot of story and screentime to her.
Oliver, Dig, and Felicity in the Arrowcave is enough for me.
A lot of us are already on that similar boat.
ReplyDeleteThis the problem I have with complaints about Laurel. You don't like her or find her boring, yet you don't want her to become the Black Canary. You know what path would make Laurel really interesting and awesome? Becoming the Black Canary! You can't "sort out whatever issues they have with Laurel" without also "devoting a lot of story and screentime to her". The latter will solve the former as long as her character is actually growing and changing. The process of becoming the Black Canary is what will redeem her character. Season One for Laurel was like Oliver pre-Origin Story (meaning before the island even). Season Two for Laurel will hopefully be like Season One for Oliver.
ReplyDeleteIt is a contradiction, I admit. That's why this is going to be so hard for the writers. We all wish Laurel to be a badass awesome character, however the character was so mishandled in season 1 that we are afraid of getting more of the same in season 2. I'd just rather have guaranteed awesomeness of Ollie, Dig, and Felicity than a huge Laurel arc with 50/50 odds of being any good.
ReplyDeleteThe writers have their work cut out for them. If they insist on giving Laurel more screentime and an arc, the writing better be top notch; not to mention Katie's acting.
That's my official spec too...
ReplyDeleteHa! That's a plan but unfortunately, they would probably take Diggle and Felicity for the spin-off too to guarantee success and that would be a no to me. I think I would rather have a Diggle, Felicity, and ghost Tommy spin-off.
ReplyDeleteVery true and highly likely, but I think that it would be better if she already had a bond with her. If we are still talking about Caity Lotz's character dying this coming season (which of course is pure speculation and may never happen at all), their friendship is either going to have to have a lot of screen time which I don't think they can afford or it has the danger of feeling rushed and less emotionally impacting for the audience.
ReplyDeleteTrue but there comes a time when there are too many characters in a show. I hope that Lotz's character becomes a fan favorite but not at the expense of say Felicity, Diggle, or even Walter, which by the way I hope they found a way to juggle his schedule so we don't have that huge break from him in the middle like before. I don't even want to lose Thea or Roy time either as long as they continue moving forward and their stories don't revolve just around being a couple. In fact, I would prefer they cut Oliver and Laurel time to devote more to these other characters.
ReplyDeleteThey could always say both characters went together to lawschool. That would give them a connection that is not related to Oliver.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Arrow is close to the "too many characters in a show" problem yet. True, they have 9 regulars now, but when we think about all recurring and regular characters killed last season, we're short of Tommy, Malcolm (Barrowman said he's returning next season in his Comic Con panel but I assume it'll be flashback scenes between him and Isabel,) Yao Fei, Fyers, McKenna, and Frank. Plus, we don't know if other recurring characters such as Joanna and Quentin's partner will return, so they have room to introduce more new characters than the 2 already published next season.
ReplyDeleteThat would work too. Of course the big problem with all of these theories is if they got the part of being a potential love interest for Oliver correct. Nothing dampens a friendship faster than dating a friend's ex.
ReplyDeleteI think Oliver would have enough potential love interests without adding this one to the mix. At least, I hope so..
ReplyDelete