As excited as Liam Neeson was about the idea, it appears that he will not be reprising his role as Ra's al Ghul on the upcoming third season of Arrow, but now we do know the name of the actor who will actually be taking on the part. It has been officially revealed today that Riddick's Matt Nable, the Rugby player-turned-actor seen above, has been selected to play one of DC Comics' most iconic villains.
While the identity of the performer playing Ra's al Ghul has been teased since San Diego Comic-Con in late July - where it was announced the character would be the big bad of Arrow Season 3 - this new announcement actually comes from show star Stephen Amell himself, who posted the following message on his Twitter page:
At this stage we can't say exactly what Nable's costuming as Ra's al Ghul will look like, but we do know two things for certain: he will wear a a sword in a scabbard on his hip:
And will wear some pretty intense finger jewelry:
Ra's al Ghul has been named dropped a few times already on Arrow, but only in the next season will we get to see him in the flesh. In terms of fixed continuity, we know that he will be portrayed as the head of the League of Assassins living in the fictional location of Nanda Parbat, and he has at least one daughter, Nyssa (Katrina Law). He both helped train both Malcolm Merlyn and Sara Lance to come trained killers as members of the League, but the former was eventually booted out and the latter left without permission. Oliver Queen has said on the show that he has been aware of both Ra's and the League of Shadows, but it's never exactly been explained how. Presumably that question will be answered in upcoming episodes.
CW has Arrow set to premiere Season 3 on Wednesday, October 8.
