Arrow has done a fantastic job at bringing DC comics characters into the fold in organic, fun ways over the course of its first two seasons. We’ve seen the likes of several big names, like Deathstroke, Amanda Waller, the Suicide Squad, the League of Assassins, Solomon Grundy, Deadshot, Huntress, Black Canary, Barry Allen, and Merlyn enter the fray, as well as lesser-known heroes and villains like Nyssa Al Ghul, the Clock King, Count Vertigo, Firefly, Shado, and the Royal Flush Gang.
That pattern will undoubtedly continue in the upcoming third season, as we’ve already heard rumors of Ted Kord/Blue Beetle finally showing up. Now, we have another character to add to the list, as Deadline reports that Sin City alum Devon Aoki has been cast as Tatsu Yamashiro, AKA Katana.
Yamashiro is a Japanese woman with a knack for martial arts and is a skilled sword fighter. Her backstory is full of deadly family drama and tragedy, and could offer plenty of material to explore in the new Hong Kong flashbacks that will replace the island-centric scenes this season. Katana will reportedly be a critical influence on Oliver Queen’s journey to becoming the present day Arrow and will be one of his mentors. There’s no word on whether or not she’ll appear in the present-day storyline, but chances are if she’s well received by audiences she’ll make the trip to Starling City.
I honestly haven’t seen much from Aoki’s small resume, but she did show that she can wield a sword as Miho in Sin City, so I guess this bit of casting does make sense. Only time will tell though if she can hold her own on the show when she’s not slicing enemies’ limbs off.
Arrow returns for its third season on Wednesday, October 8th at 8/7c on The CW.