Although the Arrow/The Flash spinoff will be full of familiar faces from both shows, it is also introducing new players to this DC TV universe. Earlier this month, Ciara Renée was cast as Kendra Saunders, a.k.a. Hawkgirl, and hours after her announcement, Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill joined as time traveler Rip Hunter. The villain that these characters will be facing is also set to be someone that hasn’t been used yet. Now another new face has been added to the project, but this actor will be playing one of the good guys.
Edge of Tomorrow actor Franz Drameh has been cast as Jay Jackson in the spinoff. Jackson is described as a former high school athlete whose pro career was derailed by an injury. Now working as an auto mechanic, he will develop a surprising affiliation with the S.T.A.R. Labs team. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, Jackson sounds like he may be the previously announced “Mystery Hero,” who is a twentysomething African-American male that unexpectedly gains superpowers and will be the one throwing out quips during team battles.
Before you start typing his name in your preferred search engine, Jay Jackson is not a character from the DC Comics library, which leads me to wonder if this identity will be used for an already established DC hero. The high school athlete portion of his description is reminiscent of Victor Stone, a.k.a. Cyborg, who was a football star in the comics. However, with Cyborg set to be one of the leading superheroes in the DC Cinematic Universe, it’s possible they may not want to use him as the star of a TV series as well. Other possibilities may include a different version of Static or the lesser know character Maximum.
On the other hand, perhaps DC is taking a different route and giving fans an original hero specially created for the spinoff. That would certainly add an extra degree of mystery, since comic book fans wouldn’t be able to guess who he is. Whatever the case, Jay’s life is certainly going to be turned upside down when he gets thrown into this crazy world of heroes and villains. Given the S.T.A.R. Labs mentioned, it sounds likely that The Flash scientists Cisco Ramone and Caitlin Snow could interact with him.
Drameh’s previous TV experience includes British shows Parents of the Band and Some Girls. He joins a cast that consists of Renée, Darvill, Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Caity Lotz, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell. No release date has been set for the CW project yet, but we will keep you apprised on any developments.
