Arrow’s Talia al Ghul Will Be More Than Just A Nyssa Knock Off In Season 5

When Nyssa al Ghul was introduced in Arrow, many fans assumed that it was because The CW series was unable to use Talia. Due to the way the former was portrayed, most now look at them as pretty much the same character, hence why it came as a big surprise when we first heard that the Talia would show up in season 5. Thankfully, we can expect her to be more than just a carbon copy.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly about bringing the better known daughter of Ra’s al Ghul to Arrow, executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained that the two sisters are very different.

“She’s definitely her own person; she’s not a Nyssa clone, by any stretch. You can definitely sense a familial resemblance. Having Ra’s al Ghul as your dad, it’s likely to forge a very specific kind of person. They’re close enough and different enough that I would love, at some point, to do a story with Nyssa and Talia. We’ll also be dealing very directly with the fairly obvious question, which is: Wait a second, when Oliver met Ra’s al Ghul, why didn’t he say, ‘Hey, wait a minute, I think I met your daughter back in Russia!’”

All of this is a relief to hear, especially as it would have been a shame for Talia to end up being little more than a slightly different version of Nyssa (a character who already has many personality traits of Talia’s comic book counterpart). We know that Oliver’s history with her has something to do with his time in Russia, so that being addressed when the show returns should please many fans.

Of course, season 5 of Arrow won’t mark Talia’s debut in this world, as we met her as a child in Legends of Tomorrow. That was during the 1950s, so she’s clearly used the Lazarus Pits over the years as well, something which could definitely end up playing a role in this story considering the fact that Oliver played a part in their destruction and the death of her father back in season 3.

Arrow‘s Talia al Ghul will be played by Lexa Doig (The 4400). Tell us, are you looking forward to her making her presence felt in the show? Sound off in the usual place and let us know!