Arrow Casts J.R. Ramirez As Wildcat

J.R. Ramirez has been cast as Ted "Wildcat" Grant on the upcoming third season of the CW's Arrow, Deadline reports.

There's speculation that Laurel Lance will study martial arts, boxing and other combat with Grant, as Black Canary did in the comics.

In the comics, Grant is a former boxing champ who becomes a costumed vigilante and a member of the Justice Society of America. Deadline reports that in Arrow, "Grant will be a former boxer who now runs a gym for underprivileged youth. A man with a mysterious past, he will play a pivotal role in Laurel Lance's arc this season."

Grant was announced as a new addition to the cast onstage at the Arrow panel at Comic Con this weekend, but no further information was given at the time.

Ramirez is best known for his role on the short-lived Emily Owens, M.D. He'll be one of a number of major DC Comics characters appearing on Arrow this season, including Ra's al Ghul and The Atom. He is also, along with Iris West over on The Flash, at least the second key, traditionally-white DC Universe character to be portrayed by a non-white actor. Candice Patton, who plays Iris West on The Flash, discussed the issue and the fan backlash with us this past weekend at Comic Con International: San Diego.

Earlier this month, speculation around Wildcat popped up when Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim tweeted a photo of a boxing ring. Later that same day, Stephen Amell posted the image at right to his Facebook page, prompting some curiosity as to whether Arrow might be fighting someone there -- and whether it, then, might be a villain like Roulette or Sportsmaster, rather than Grant, who popped up on the show.