‘Shadowhunters’ Star Katherine McNamara Teases Her Mysterious ‘Arrow’ Role

There are a lot of mysteries this season on Arrow. Oliver is in prison with no real indication of if or when he’ll get out, a series of flash forwards are revealing a dark, dystopian fate for Star City and many of its heroes, and on top of all that there’s also a shadowy new Green Arrow at work in the city. There’s also the matter of Katherine McNamara‘s upcoming role on The CW series and it sounds like there are even more mysteries to unfold.

In a recent interview with E! News, the Shadowhunters star opened up a bit about her Arrow character, Maya, noting how she was “kickass” but very different from previous characters she’s played.

“She’s a street fighter, so she’s a boxer in an underground fight club,” McNamara said. “She grew up in a very rough environment and is very much a product of that environment. So whereas Clary [her Shadowhunters character] was very much the hopeful optimist, Maya is very much the realist and one to punch first and ask questions later. She’s not one to be underestimated or messed with. Maya’s certainly kickass, I’ll tell you that much.”

The idea of Maya being “kickass” lines up with what little fans have been told about the character thus far. Back in September, McNamara’s casting in the role was announced with the casting notice drawing comparisons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Maya was described as being a “pivotal” recurring role on Arrow as “a scrappy street fighter and thief from Star City”. Now that the season is in full swing, there are a few possibilities when it comes to the scrappy Maya. One of the big questions this season is the identity of the new Green Arrow and Maya could very easily fit the bill.

It’s also possible that Maya is a character with significance in the flash forward timeline fans have been seeing. After all, in “Level Two” it was revealed that there really isn’t a version of Star City as we now know it in the future as the Glades have risen and built a wall leading to all kinds of chaos and lawlessness. No matter what role — or timeline — Maya plays into, McNamara revealed that she does have quite a few secrets about the season and that fans can expect a lot from the character.

“I do have a lot of secrets up my sleeve that have been so graciously shared with me by the showrunner [Beth Schwartz] and by everyone else on Team Arrow,” McNamara says. “The biggest thing I can say is there’s a lot to come from this character, and there’s so much as an actor for me to mine out of it. And just like everyone at Arrow‘s been so welcoming, and it really has been a situation where I feel like I’m part of the family.”

Arrow airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.