Doctor Who star Tony Curran is joining the Arrowverse as Despero, a "unique" villain who will come up against The Flash in the show's new season.
Curran will make his debut in the first episode of The Flash's eighth season, kicking off a five-episode "crossover-like" event titled 'Armageddon'.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace gave some new details on Curran's character, calling it their own "take" on Despero's DC mythology.
The five-parter will see The Flash, Team Flash, and heroes from other Arrowverse shows unite to battle Despero, who has left behind his homeworld of Kalanor on a deadly mission that threatens Earth.
"I wanted to put a truly classic DC villain in this five-part event that I knew fans would get excited about," Wallace told EW.
"Also, and I can't say too much without revealing too much of the story, there's a certain element to the story itself that involves the powerset of Despero, [which] makes him the perfect fit for the story."
Wallace also said that Curran's portrayal of Vincent van Gogh on Doctor Who helped him get the part of Despero.
"When Despero shows up on Earth, you can kind of understand why he's here [and] see it from his point of view," Wallace said.
"That was kind of important to get across, but then to not be afraid of the bigger side because, as fans of the comics know, Despero has a lot of powers. This isn't a guy who just stands there and talks for five episodes. You'll see him using some of his familiar powers from the comic books.
"That's where Tony's experience in other sci-fi genre shows really came into the play, because he immediately understood. [He said,] 'I love the Shakespearean bigness of it, but I also understand he needs to be relatable to the audience on a very grounded level.'
"I think the audience is going to flip out when they see how dynamic, exciting, and unpredictable Tony is in bringing this particular version of Despero to life," Wallace continued.
"This is not exactly the Despero that you might know from the comics, or the Justice League cartoon. This is our own version that Tony is really bringing something unique to it that I think is going to help make him the definitive Despero."
'Armageddon' will also see the return of Tom Cavanagh and Neal McDonough as villains Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk.
"What happens when you have one bad guy? Well, bad things happen," Wallace teased.
"What happens when you have more than one bad guy? Multiple bad things happen, and it makes for a really terrible day for the Flash. Let's just say the Flash is about to have the worst day he's ever had in eight years."
The Flash airs on The CW in the US. Sky Showcase and NOW air the show in the UK.
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Stephanie is a writer who specialises in pro wrestling, covering everything from AEW and WWE to NJPW.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she went on to study journalism at Birbeck University.
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