It looks like Grant Gustin will be Warbling his way back to The CW. The Glee actor, who has also appeared in CW's 90210, has landed a pretty significant role in the upcoming second season of Arrow. He's reportedly set to recur as Flash in Arrow, and if all goes well with the episodes, he could end up going on to star in the potential spinoff series at the network.
Back in July, we learned that the CW was looking to Arrow co-creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kresberg to fast-track a drama centered around comic book character Flash. The plan would be to introduce the character in Arrow and then ideally spin the character off with his own series. That left one major question unanswered: Who will play Flash? If you guessed someone young and good-looking, you were right (and you probably watch any given CW show, as those combined traits tend to apply to the network's talent.) Glee has no shortage of young and good-looking actors, among which is Grant Gustin, who played Dalton Warbler Sebastian Smythe. So we know red suits him, which is a good thing as The Wrap reports that he'll be playing Flash.
The site goes on to say that Gustin will appear in three episodes of Arrow (8, 9 and 20), which will serve as the backdoor pilot to the potential Flash series. Gustin's character goes by the name of Barry and is a Central City assistant police forensic investigator who shows up in Starling to investigate some unexplained robberies, which might tie into a tragedy in his past. Barry also happens to be a comic book fan boy, who's obsessed with Stephen Amell's character Arrow. And he has no idea that working with Oliver and Felicity on this investigation "has brought him right into the dangerous world of the vigilante."
As mentioned, Gustin played Blaine's potential love interest (and Kurt's competition) Sebastian in Glee. His credits also include the part of Campbell Price in 90210, which makes the CW familiar territory for the actor. Beyond that, he had a spot on CSI: Miami and a role in TV movie A Mother's Nightmare. So while his credits are somewhat limited now, this recurring role could evolve into something much bigger if The CW decides to move forward with Flash next season. And considering things have been working out for Arrow, which fills the superhero vacancy left by Smallville, it seems like there's a good chance the CW will want to expand on the genre if at all possible, and Flash would be the way to do that.
I can't imagine his singing and dancing abilities will be put to good use in Arrow or Flash... unless they decide to modernize Flash's story by having him use musical performances as a diversionary tactic -- FLASH mob! -- Sorry. But here's a look at a deleted scene from Glee that shows off Gustin's talent, Motown-style…
Arrow returns Wednesday, October 9 to The CW.
