Since the first season of Arrow when he was the big bad, Malcolm Merlyn, John Barrowman‘s character has been an omnipresent force of chaos, being both ally and adversary, depending on the storyline.But now it seems as though the producers of the entire CW DC Comics Universe wants that force to be chaotic across all of their titles. In an unprecedented show of synergy, Barrowman has been made a series regular not only on Arrow but also The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow as well.
The news was first reported by TVLine and confirmed by Entertainment Weekly on Friday afternoon. Barrowman’s Dark Archer—a.k.a. the Magician, a.k.a. the former Ra’s al Ghul—is set to be a thorn in the side of the Scarlet Speedster and the time-traveling band of misfits as well as his usual nemesis/daughter’s brother, the Honorable Mayor Oliver Queen. It’s the kind of deal that can only make sense in a world where all three shows are filmed mere feet away from each other in Vancouver. Barrowman might not be in every episode of any one show, but might be in a show or two per week: the deal does not disclose if Merlyn will appear on Supergirl which has made the move to Vancouver, but if anyone not named the Flash could hop dimensions, it’s Merlyn the Magician.
This news comes right on the heels of Wentworth Miller inking a new deal that will make his Captain Cold, a.k.a. Leonard Snart, a full-timer on both Flash and Legends, which is interesting because–SPOILERS–Snart sacrificed himself at the end of Legends‘ first season. But it’s a time travel show; anything’s possible.
The truly interesting thing for all of these shows is now how this bleed over will affect the storylines. Barrowman’s name was in the credits of Arrow last season but he didn’t appear in every episode, and truth be told, he felt a bit like an unnecessary appendage to the already overfilled plot arc. Being a League of Assassins member and a trickster of the highest order might make Merlyn the perfect Puckish character to show up any time something particularly bad is about to happen. And maybe we’ll get to see a different time period iteration of Merlyn on Legends of Tomorrow to offset his current state.
The mind truly races. Let us know what you think Merlyn will get up to next year in the comments below!
Image: Warner Bros/The CW
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and a diehard and unapologetic DC Comics fanboy. Follow him on Twitter!
