Shadowhunters and Arrow alum Katherine McNamara is sticking with The CW! While many fans have been bummed about the network not moving forward with the Green Arrow and the Canaries spinoff, the actress has landed a lead role in another spinoff in the form of Walker's upcoming prequel.
Katherine McNamara, who portrayed Mia Smoak and future-timeline Green Arrow in the later seasons of The CW’s Arrow, has been cast as Abby Walker in the pilot for the in-development prequel project, Walker: Independence, according to Deadline. The potential series, set in the 1800s, will follow Abby during her journey west after her husband’s murder, where she'll cross paths with Hoyt Rawlins, as portrayed by the previously cast Matt Barr. The two aim to settle in the titular Independence, Texas, where they'll make both friends and enemies amidst all kinds of trouble and excitement.
The actress was quick to respond to the news after it broke, and expressed her excitement and gratitude on Twitter:
A girl walks into a western – there’s a new Walker in town. Thrilled to saddle up w @larryteng & the amazing team for an epic journey. Honored to be handed the reigns of the #WALKER legacy w #MattBarr. Pass the whisky y’all & let’s ride this trail together! #WalkerIndependence
While Walker: Independence is still in the pilot stage, hopefully it gets farther than Green Arrow and the Canaries did in the network approval process, so that we can finally see her on The CW more permanently. Although McNamara did make her grand return to the network recently for The Flash’s “Armageddon” event, fingers crossed we get even more of her soon, even outside of the Arrowverse.
McNamara definitely seems ready to step into the shoes of Abby Walker and work alongside costar Matt Barr and director Larry Teng. Barr portrayed present-day Hoyt on Walker before getting killed off, so seeing him in an ancestral role a couple hundred years prior will be something else to look forward to for Walker fans. Teng, meanwhile, has directing credits on shows such as NCIS: Hawai’i, Nancy Drew, Runaways, and S.W.A.T., among others.
Walker: Independence was first announced to be in development at The CW late last year, with Supernatural vet and Walker star Jared Padalecki serving as executive producer. The network gave the prequel a pilot order in February 2022, with casting news slowly rolling out over the last few weeks.
Along with Barr, McNamara also joins previously announced cast members Justin Johnson Cortez, Greg Hovanessian, Lawrence Kao and Philemon Chambers. There will likely be more news surrounding Walker: Independence in the coming weeks, though whether it will get ordered to series or not may not be known for a while.
Before Katherine McNamara made a name for herself on The CW, she starred as Clary Fray on Freeform’s supernatural drama Shadowhunters, based on The Mortal Instruments book series. The show lasted for three seasons, and definitely made an impact on fans. She also starred in the short-lived MTV series Happyland and appeared on Disney projects such as Kickin’ It, Girl Vs. Monster, and Jessie.
Aside from Walker: Independence, Katherine McNamara can be seen in the upcoming films Agent Game, The Adventures of Bunny Bravo and El Tonto. She is definitely keeping busy film-wise, so hopefully the prequel goes to series so we can have her back on the small screen!
In the meantime, Walker airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on The CW! Check out CinemaBlend’s winter and spring TV schedule to see what else to look forward to.
