As we predicted here last month, the CW Network is trickling out details of the new Green Arrow series Arrow. The biggest news is that veteran of several Star Trek roles, Susanna Thompson, has been cast as Green Arrow/Oliver Queen’s mother Moira Queen. Although not a regularly featured character in past Green Arrow comic book series (although Queen’s mom had a role recently in Green Arrow: Into the Woods), having a seasoned genre character actor like Thompson in the series should bring some credibility to the show that is to feature several young actors in lead roles.
Mike Mayhew's take on Moira Queen
Susanna Thompson may be best known for playing the Borg Queen opposite Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek Voyager. She also played the Romulan Varel in the excellent classic episode ”The Next Phase”–
and Jaya the inmate in the episode “Frame of Mind,” both from Star Trek: The Next Generation. She later played trill Doctor Lenara Kahn opposite Terry Farrell’s Jadzia Dax in the Deep Space Nine episode “Rejoined.”
Thompson as a Trill in Deep Space Nine "Rejoined"
She has played plenty of other roles, including characters in Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, The X-Files, Twilight Zone, Law and Order: SVU, Without a Trace, Cold Case and another queen, Queen Rose Benjamin on Kings.
Katie Cassidy on New Girl
And it seems like the best way to get a role on Arrow is to have guest-starred on last (and this) year’s best comedy series, New Girl. Yesterday the CW released that Oliver Queen’s girlfriend Dinah Lance aka Black Canary will be played by Supernatural actress Katie Cassidy. Although in Dinah’s best incarnation in the comic book series she ran a floral shop called Sherwood Florist in Seattle with Ollie, the creators threw that back story out the window and have Dinah as a lawyer. Cassidy is the daughter of 1970s singer/pop star David Cassidy (remember The Partridge Family? “I Think I Love You”? Yep, that guy). She actually looks a bit like her dad.
Katie Cassidy on Supernatural
So will the producers go the right direction with dark-haired Dinah who sports a blonde wig, or wimp out and make her dyed blonde like recent incarnations? Cassidy has played roles both ways and looks like she could carry off the part (visually at least) either way. Cassidy’s past roles include Zoe on 7th Heaven (with ex-Star Trek actors Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks), Ruby on Supernatural, Trish on Harper’s Island, Ella on Melrose Place, and Juliet on Gossip Girl, along with roles in A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), Click, and When a Stranger Calls (2006). Most recently she played Brooke on the “Wedding” episode of New Girl.
Katie Cassidy on Harper's Island
Behind the scenes, costume designer Tish Monaghan will be creating the new supersuit for Green Arrow and hopefully Black Canary as well. Monaghan is a veteran costume designer for films Insomnia, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), Happy Gilmore, the Cats & Dogs series, the Twilight series, and the short-lived TV reboot of Bionic Woman.
Cliff Chiang's Black Canary
We reported earlier that Stephen Amell had been cast in the lead role as Oliver Queen. Amell can be seen currently as Cece’s off-the-wall boyfriend on New Girl. His high energy performance on that series may indicate he is a great choice for the role as the archer superhero.
We’ll share more about this new series as we hear it!
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com
