Arrow Season 3 Spoilers: Is Ra's Al Ghul Following His 'Batman Begins' Plot?

By Andrew Meola | Oct 10, 2014 09:42 AM EDT

Fans who tuned into the Season 3 premiere of Arrow met Peter Stormare's new version of The Count and the new Vertigo drug, which causes people to see their worst fears. This immediately called to mind for many fans the plot of Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins, in which he wanted to use a fear toxin to destroy Gotham. So is Ra's using this same plot on Arrow this season?

Not according to executive producer Marc Guggenheim. "Total coincidence," he told Entertainment Weekly. "Its presence in [the premiere] was really designed to [show] that Oliver is struggling with the theme of identity. We certainly talked about that in the writers' room," he continues. "'Are people going to think we're doing the same thing as Batman Begins?' But ultimately, for us, character and theme pretty much trump everything else and we were like, 'No, we're doing our own thing.'" 

But on that note, CW network president Mark Pedowitz told Buzzfeed that they actually approached Liam Neeson about reprising the role for Arrow and were "thrilled" that he was open to the idea, but it didn't happen. "We never thought he would," he said. "We quickly went to him, just on the off-chance that he had the time to do it."

Finally, the official description for Episode 4, "The Magician," has been released. This will be the first appearance of Matt Nable as Ra's Al Ghul. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

"NYSSA RETURNS TO STARLING CITY, RA'S AL GHUL MAKES HIS ENTRANCE - A furious Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law) confronts Oliver (Stephen Amell) about Sara. When Oliver learns Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) is alive, he suspects Merlyn killed Sara. Oliver and Nyssa join forces and go after the Dark Archer, intent on bringing Sara's killer to justice. Laurel (Katie Cassidy) keeps her distance from Nyssa, as she blames her sister's death on her involvement with the League of Assassins. Meanwhile, Oliver and Roy (Colton Haynes) work on repairing their respective relationships with Thea (Willa Holland), who has returned home. Nyssa discusses Oliver with her father, Ra's al Ghul (guest star Matt Nable). John Behring directed the episode written by Wendy Mericle & Marc Guggenheim (#304)."

What do you think will happen later this season on Arrow? Let us know in the comments section.

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