With the ever growing Arrowverse and emerging DCCU (DC cinematic Universe), it’s about time we match the Marvel Studios News with some DC News! And with casting news galore, this update is all about the Arrowverse (Arrow, The Flash & Legends Of Tomorrow). So get ready for some amazing stuff!

Flashes, Assemble! – Jay Garrick, Wally West & The Mysterious ‘Zoom’:

As we saw in the Season One finale, Jay Garrick – the original Flash – will be making an appearance. That’s right! THE ORIGINAL! Barry Allen is the second Flash in record, the first being a man named Jay Garrick and we saw him -or at least his signature helmet – in the Season Finale. Well Garrick will appear in full in Season Two of The Flash and Teddy Sears has gotten the honor of the part. Although if one Flash is set to appear, you can be sure at least one more shall – or maybe two.

The next big announcement is in the casting of Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West; and if you’re one of the people upset about the “race change”, take a second to realize how stupid you sound. Jesse Martin plays Joe West and Candice Patton plays Iris West. So if Iris’s nephew turned out to be a white skinned/red haired kid, genetics must have taken a day off. And before you start grasping at straws and saying “You could have made Wally adopted” … just stop. Keiynan Lonsdale has the role AND he’s totally NAIL IT!

Further more, Keiynan’s Wally will be closer to the New 52 version of Wally West, which makes sense since it’s almost impossible to watch an episode of The Flash without finding a New 52 Easter Egg! Keiynan’s a promising young actor and I’m really excited to see what he does in the role. Plus, considering the path they’re taking with Wally West, this also sheds light on one of the most mysterious things about Season 2 – Zoom!

During SDCC we got a run through of Season 1 with teases of 2, and the biggest set up was for a mysterious Speedster named Zoom. At first this made us wonder if it could mean the return of the Reverse Flash who’s also know as Professor Zoom sometimes; but how do you explain the blue energy? Even if he was Hunter Zolomon, the blue still stands out. Well one of the most famous battles from The New 52 – involving the previous mentioned Wally West and Barry Allen – was against The Future Flash.

His costume not only looks strikingly similar to the teased Zoom but also could play into a major twist as Future Flash is a grim Barry Allen who’s been tormented by the death of Wally – causing him to go back in time and kill all his enemies on the path to right his wrongs. Much like Season 1 did with Wells/Eobard/Reverse Flash, I’m sure there will be a few new twists added to the story. Either way, the writers have some epic source material to work with.

Hawkman & The Crossover Series Set Up:

Hawkman and Hawkgirl are two of those characters that have countless versions of themselves – even in the same continuity. And considering we got a Hawkgirl already (played by Ciara Renee), we need a Hawkman. Let me explain – as far as the Arrowverse is concerned. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are supposed to be soulmates and are constantly reincarnated through time, since ancient Egypt. Hawkman in this case is a former Egyptian Prince named Carter Hall, and he now has been casted with the role going to Falk Hentschel.

While Hetschel might not look like an Egyptian prince, remember ‘reincarnation’ is at play here, so give him a fair chance. He certainly has the menacing grimace usually associated with Hawkman. As for how he’ll play into the Arrowverse, he’ll actually appear in the annual Flash/Arrow crossover episode arc and then return for the Spin-Off Series Legends of Tomorrow. In fact, that’s how most of the first half of The Flash and Arrow will work as certain episodes get all the chess pieces in place.

Remember, when we last saw Sarah Lance she was dead. Ray Palmer is missing/shrunken. Hawkgirl is a stranger who knows nothing about herself or her powers. And Captain Cold and Heatwave aren’t exactly playing nice. The crossover can’t happen with how things are now and things have to be set into motion for the midseason hiatus event that will be Legends of Tomorrow. That is exactly what we can expect partly from Arrow and The Flash this season. After all, Arrow set up for The Flash, so it’s only fair that both set up for Legends of Tomorrow.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The Timeless Villain:

Sometimes in life you get a casting that is SO spot on, you’d think the person was bor to play that role. This is certainly true of Stephen Amell, Grant Gustin and everyone in the arrowverse – even for Melissa Benoist in her upcoming Supergirl series. Well, Legends of Tomorrow might have just beat all of these with their villainous cast of the immortal dictator Vandal Savage.

Casper Crump has been cast to play this powerhouse role and much like the rest of the Legends of Tomorrow cast, will be appearing in the Arrow/Flash Crossover arc in the first half of the season.

Love And A Cyborg Come To Central City? – Mysterious Castings:

Well it’s not official yet; but let’s look at the facts. There’s been two other new castings mentioned for next Season. The first is Shantel VanSanten as Patty Spivot, who is a recent comic addition. She will work with Barry in CCPD and will even become Joe’s new partner; but the big talk is that she will be one of Barry’s new love interests this coming season.

The other is Franz Drameh as a character known as Jay Jackson. Now don’t bother trying to google him, because he doesn’t even exist in the comics. Although his ‘character description’ as “a former highschool athlete whose pro career was derailed by injury” sounds strikingly familiar. That’s because that is basically the origin story of Victor Stone aka Cyborg. Aside from the character description, we also hear how he’ll be hanging around the S.T.A.R. Labs team, so that could explain his tech. Again, right now it’s just a guess, but a pretty safe bet at that.

Vixen Series Due Soon:

Even though it won’t be live-action, the animated Vixen series will be just as Canon as any of the other Arrowverse shows. The series will hit CW Seed in a few weeks and you can expect a Series Analysis/Closer Look from me similar to what I did for Marvel’s Daredevil. So stay tuned!