As The CW’s hit series Arrow heads toward Season 3, the casting is coming fast and furious, with every few days bringing yet another actor into the shadowy fray. One role the show has yet to cast is that of the mysterious villain Ra’s al Ghul. Luckily, the network’s search could be over if it wanted, as Liam Neeson is willing to reprise the role he first played in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Neeson on my TV on a weekly basis? I’ll take it.
In an interview with MTV, Neeson was asked if he’d reprise the evil character again, and his answer was overwhelmingly positive. “I would,” he said, “in a heartbeat, if it came my way, yeah. Very much so.” Well that sounds about as official as actually signing a contract, so let’s get this guy’s mustache back to its magical Fu Manchu state post-haste.
If we’re being realistic, it’s not likely that The CW will take this wonderful news and put it to good use. Instead, they’ll probably try to snag the most attractive “Ra’s al Ghul-ish” person that no one has ever heard of, further fragmenting the DC Universe. Should that happen, Neeson has strong advice for whoever would newly step into the League of Shadows.
“They have to believe in their philosophy,” Neeson told MTV. “Ra’s al Ghul absolutely believed what he was doing was ultimately saving civilization, and it was quite a good argument he comes up with. Throughout the ages this fraternity, that brought the plague to wipe out a section of mankind because it needed to be regenerated again. Very dangerous, but you have to believe it.”
So no short-shrifting the villainy, Arrow writers! It’s not as if they’re just shoehorning the criminal mastermind into the narrative. His name has come up multiple times throughout Arrow’s run, and Team Arrow is undoubtedly ready to take him on. But they probably have no idea what they’re in for. Neither does the world.
Listen to Neeson’s word straight from his mouth in the video below.
Most recently, Arrow added Matt Ward as the villainous Komodo and brought in Rila Fukushima to replace Devon Aoki in the role of Katana. Check out the latest action-packed teasers and get your hoodies ready to go for Season 3 when it premieres on The CW on Wednesday, October 8.
