Season five on Arrow is going to hell, according to Deadline Hollywood. David Meunier, known for his role on FX’s Justified, joins the CW’s Arrow for season five as the demonic Ishmael Gregor. Meunier has appeared in many television series as both a regular and single episode character. His resume includes Damien, Scandal, CSI: Miami, Legends, and Burn Notice. Most recently he played Charlie Manson’s gatekeeper Roy Kovic on NBC’s Aquarius. Arrow is Meunier’s first comic-based show.
David Meunier: Demon Beast or Regular Baddie?
Although Gregor, in the comics, transforms into a massive hell-beast form, we likely won’t see him take that shape on Arrow. Showrunners, stars and Executive Producer Wendy Mericle all discuss season five in terms of a return to the originally gritty and grounded world of season one.
This probably means we get to see David Meunier as an terrifyingly human character, like his role on Justified. According to Deadline Hollywood, the show transforms Gregor into “the slick and intimidating Pakhan (“Godfather”) of the Bratva, whom Anatoly (David Nykl) reports and takes a special interest in Oliver Queen”. This plays off Gregor’s double life in the comics, where he was a Russian crime boss whose ambitions led him to the demonic Sabbac.
Oliver’s Got a Lot on his Mayor’s Desk
Last season, Oliver Queen won the race for Mayor of Star City while watching his team dwindle in numbers. If that weren’t enough to make any man go batty (wrong guy?), now the City has dueling vigilante teams. Once Green Arrow took down Damien Darhk, a group of new guys joined the fray. However, like a boy wonder with no field experience, they often get in the way rather than providing any help.
Adversaries old and new are on the scene this season. Long-time viewers will likely remember Anatoly Knyazev, from the shows first two seasons. According to ComicBook.com “His reappearance isn’t entirely a surprise, since most fans had hoped David Nykl would reprise the role once it became clear this year’s flashbacks would deal with the Bratva storyline, but there were doubts: most characters tend to vanish from the CW DC Universe once they’re headed for the big screen, and Knyazev played a key role in this spring’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
Based on DC characters, Arrow was created by executive producers Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Supergirl”), Marc Guggenheim (“Eli Stone,” “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters”) and Andrew Kreisberg (“The Flash,” “Supergirl”). All three are Executive Producers along with Wendy Mericle (“Desperate Housewives,” “Eli Stone”) and Sarah Schechter (“Supergirl,” “Blindspot”). The show stars Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen), David Ramsey (John Diggle), and Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak)
Arrow Season 5 premieres Wednesday, October 5, on the CW.
