"Arrow" Season 5 (various directors, 2016-2017, TV series)

[Jox]

According to IMDBpro, Dolph will be in episode 23 of season 5 which will air March 8, 2017 (and I guess will be filmed this fall or winter). His full character name is Leonid Kovar.

[dude hallenbeck]

In the comics Leonid Kovar aka Red Star is a Russian superhero. It's actually a cool character for him to play, as he's also an archaeologist and operates under the sanction of the Russian government. But I'd say he would've been better served in the DC film franchise than the TV one though.

[bomaz]

Well, as most comics characters in Arrow, he will be underused (remember Wildcat, or even the Michael Jai WHite tiger character).

[Jox]

“We really wanted to go gritty, dark, and make it feel very real. We’re dealing with the Bratva, and the Bratva is, as we all know, a pretty interesting and messed-up institution. I might get shot for saying that, but hey!” she adds with a laugh.

The team did their share of research, with Mericle adding “Everyone on staff watched [the 2007 film] Eastern Promises. I watched documentaries about Bratva and how they operate in Russian prisons.”

Eastern Promises is a film that was released in 2007 Directed by David Cronenberg. In the film, a pregnant Russian teenager dies during childbirth, with only the baby surviving. The midwife Anna (played by Naomi Watts) discovers her diary, which leads her through the girl's history with the Russian mafia, and it is far from pretty.

That won't be the only part of Oliver's past that is explored in the new season. Fans will also see Oliver throwdown with a new government enemy played by Dolph Lundgren.

“[Dolph’s character] is a government strongman,” Mericle previews. “He is scary and formidable — and he had a role in some stuff with Taiana’s family last season. He’s a bit of a badass.”

comicbook.com/dc/2016/08/20/arrow-ep-discusses-season-5-flashbacks-and-dolph-lundgrens-role/

[Jox]

Season 5 first promos
(no Dolph yet of course)

[Jox]

Arrow Prod. Office ‏@ArrowProdOffice

Welcome @Dolph_Lundgren to #Arrow!

https://twitter.com/ArrowProdOffice/sta ... 4047171584

FYI they're only shooting episode 6 this week.

[Nathan]

Dolph has barely aged in the last 10 years.

[Jox]

Sometimes it looks like that and others it looks like time actually had it's toll on him, especially since the last 2-3 films he directed and his divorce... Overall he's aging very well.

[shooby]

swedish genes + cold polar lol

[Jox]

[Jox]

Here's a first glimpse of Dolph in the latest trailer. He might be filming on and off for the show.

[Jox]

Exclusive: Willa Holland and Katrina Law talk ‘Arrow’ stunts, filming and crossovers
http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2016/10 ... rossovers/

[Jox]

Interview: ‘Arrow’ Showrunner Wendy Mericle on Dolph Lundgren, Metahumans, and What’s Ahead in Season 5
http://www.slashfilm.com/arrow-intervie ... y-mericle/

Will this be the year the flashbacks catch up with the pilot?

It sure is. We’re going to go to Russia and we’re going to see how Oliver became a member of the Bratva and our endgame is syncing up with the pilot. It might very well be the last year we have flashbacks.

Since Dolph is playing a villain in the Russian flashbacks, are you leaning into his legacy as Ivan Drago?

Absolutely. That’s part of the reason we were so excited to get him. I do believe he’s Swedish though.

He is but he played the Russian in Rocky IV.

Absolutely, I’m a huge Rocky IV fan. We were really excited to get him. It’s one of the reasons. We said this actually to him directly, he’s one of those names that’s come up in the writers room multiple times and every time we’d be like is the right role, is this the right character for him? We finally found the right guy and we got him. We’re really excited.

Would you ask him to say, “I must break you” to Oliver?

We might find a way to work that line in. You never know.

He said it for Chuck so he’s done it before.

Did he really? I’ll find out. I’m glad. He seems like he’s up for everything.

How many episodes is he in?

I think I’m allowed to say three.

[dude hallenbeck]

Only three is good news. This show's writing can be so awful, but hopefully this can get Dolph some more TV gigs.

[Jox]

ARROW BOSS PREVIEWS DOLPH LUNDGREN’S FORMIDABLE VILLAIN IN ‘THE FINAL YEAR OF FLASHBACKS’
http://nerdist.com/arrow-boss-previews- ... lashbacks/

“You’ll meet him in episode 6,” Guggenheim says. “His first day of dailies were so strong that we figured out a way to expand his involvement, not in a huge way but slightly beyond the original three episodes that we had initially contracted him for.”

As for just how they got Lundgren to appear on the show, Guggenheim reveals it was easier than he thought it would be.

“We knew we were going to have this character, and originally he was only going to be in three episodes,” Guggenheim says. “So we thought, if it’s only for three episodes, maybe we can spend some money and stunt cast. I hate using that phrase, but when you are going to get someone for a limited period of time, it opens you up to a wider variety of actors since you’re not asking them for a long-term commitment. Brian Ford Sullivan, one of the writers, threw out Dolph’s name. I was like, ‘That’s never going to happen, but yeah, sure. Why not try?'”

He continues, “Our amazing casting people reached out to Dolph’s people, he was interested, and it really happened as easily as that. And Dolph has not just been terrific on camera, but he’s just the most lovely person and a total team player. He’s been fantastic.”

Expect Kovar to be unlike any of the villains Oliver has faced before, both in the present and flashbacks.

“By virtue of this character and the way we’re writing him and the way Dolph is performing him, he’s a wonderful mix in a way that we often haven’t had on the show in that his character is very erudite, but at the same time, he’s Dolph Lundgren so he’s very physically imposing,” Guggenheim says. “That’s a combination that we haven’t always had on the show.”