Arrow Finds Ra’s al Ghul, Plus a New Trailer

Aussie veteran of Killer Elite and Riddick will play the League of Assassins leader.

Liam Neeson may have told reporters last week that he would gladly reprise his role as Ra’s Al Ghul for The CW’s Arrow, but to the surprise of well, no one, a different actor has been set for the part.

On Thursday (September 4) morning, Arrow star Stephen Amell coyly tweeted:

[blockquote]”Please welcome Matt Nable to Arrow. You know who he’s playing.”[/blockquote]

And in case you didn’t know who he’s playing, Amell included a picture of DC Comics’ supervillain and League of Assassins frontman, Ra’s Al Ghul, most famously played by Neeson in “Batman Begins.

In July at San Diego’s Comic-Con, WBTV and Arrow announced that Ra’s Al Ghul would be playing a key role this season. The news came at the end of a clip package that showcased how central Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassins have already been to the show’s mythology, with ties to John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn and also to the evolution of Black Canary through Al Ghul’s daughter, Nyssa.

The CW‘s character description reads: “Ra’s al Ghul is an iconic villain from the pages of DC Comics. He is the leader of the League of Assassins, and father of Nyssa al Ghul (played by Katrina Law). Proud and unforgiving, Ra’s is a ruthless strategist, a master of martial arts, and a shaper of history. He carries the wisdom of the ages, and protects some of its greatest secrets.”

So who, exactly, is Matthew Nable you might be asking?

Well, he’s a former rugby league footballer, having played briefly in the Winfield Cup Premiership for the Manly-Warringah and South Sydney clubs. Nable transitioned from sport to writing, working on the screenplay for the film The Final Winter If you recognize Nable, it’s probably from roles in the features Killer Elite and Riddick.

This will be a recurring role for Nable with no set episode count.

Ra’s Al Ghul will first appear in the season’s fourth Arrow episode, titled “The Magician.” That will also be the 50th episode for Arrow.

On top of that, there has also been a new trailer for the forthcoming season premiering today, which shows quite a few of the new faces in the new season, and packs a lot of action. Check out the new trailer below.

Arrow premieres on The CW on October 8.