And just when you thought this year’s Arrowverse crossover, titled “Elseworlds,” couldn’t get anymore exciting, in walks John Barrowman, reprising his role of Malcolm Merlyn.
Yes, as you’ll see from the photo down below, Barrowman is back in action, though it seems he won’t be free from the shenanigans going on in this reality-bending event. That’s because he’s pictured alongside an alternate version of Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo), while he himself appears quite different from how we’re used to seeing him, too. What exactly’s going on here, we can’t say, but we’re certainly happy to have the actor back in the Arrowverse regardless.
And while we didn’t expect him to turn up on “Elseworlds,” we’d already been told that Barrowman was planning a return, as the former Doctor Who actor teased an upcoming appearance in the franchise at a recent convention. At the time, however, we thought he was referring to season 7 of Arrow, but it seems his return will occur in the crossover instead.
Of course, Barrowman began his journey way back in Arrow season 1 as Oliver Queen’s original nemesis, Dark Archer. Following that, he hung around for subsequent seasons in more of an anti-hero or supporting villain role, increasingly in the capacity as the biological father of Oliver’s sister, Thea. His story seemingly came to an end, though, in the season 5 finale, when Malcolm was blown up by a landmine on Lian Yu in a moment of self-sacrifice to save his daughter.
As such, fans were confused how he might be returning, but it seems we now have our answer. Or at least, part of it. There’s still a whole lot about “Elseworlds” that we don’t know, but John Barrowman’s involvement makes for yet another intriguing piece of the puzzle. And it’s one which will begin to unfold on December 9th, when the big event gets underway.