It's no secret that Arrow has never shied away from using elements of the Batman mythos to tell its stories. In particular, the show has made phenomenal use of Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins since its second season. Although we haven't heard much from this mysterious group in recent episodes, it now looks like the show will soon introduce one of the most vital League characters from DC Comics. Get ready, DC fans, Talia Al Ghul is on the way, and she is going to be portrayed by actress Lexa Doig.
We've just learned that The CW's Arrow has officially cast Talia Al Ghul for Season 5 of The Emerald Archer's series. It seems that veteran sci-fi actress Lexa Doig has officially been tapped to take on the role of the iconic comic book villainess. Much like her half-sister Nyssa, Talia is a deadly and exotic warrior who has no trouble carving out her own side in a given conflict. The character will debut in the tenth episode of Arrow's fifth season, and appear in multiple subsequent episodes. The exact nature of her involvement in Season 5 remains a mystery, but the arrival of any member of the Al Ghul clan in Star City usually means trouble for Oliver Queen and Team Arrow.
As far as casting decisions go, Lexa Doig represents a solid choice. The 43-year-old actress has a strong pedigree for genre television and she has appeared in numerous action-heavy sci-fi show such as Andromeda and Continuum. Given her talent for these types of projects, we definitely expect her to bring a strong degree of believability to the more fantastical elements of Arrow.
Of course, while this will be the first we see of an adult Talia, it's not the first time the character has appeared in the Arrow-verse. Astute fans will remember that the character popped up as a child during an episode of Legends of Tomorrow's first season when Rip Hunter's team of Legends went back in time to face off against her father, Ra's Al Ghul. Although it initially seemed like little more than a simple Easter egg, it now looks like we're going to get a much more fleshed out, realized version of the character. Maybe we will even get a brief reference to her beloved Bruce Wayne if we're lucky.
Lexa Doig has quite a bit of flexibility with the role of Talia Al Ghul due to the fact that she hasn't appeared that many times in live-action. Marion Cotillard played the role as the central antagonist in The Dark Knight Rises, and aside from Teresa Palmer's recent insistence that she would like to play the part in the DCEU, the character has remained pretty much dormant since 2012. With such little precedent for a live-action depiction of the character (combined with an abundance of source material to draw from) Doig could do some truly fascinating things with this iconic DC femme fatale.
We will bring you more information concerning Talia Al Ghul's debut on Arrow as more information becomes available to us. The Emerald Archer's series airs every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. For now, make sure to check out our fall TV premiere guide for more information concerning all of the most highly anticipated fall television debuts.
