First Look At Michael Emerson In ‘Arrow’ Season 6 Sizzle Reel

Arrow is headed back to our television screens later this week, but The CW has already given fans a look at one of the season’s biggest secrets.

At the very end of the show’s newest sizzle reel, Michael Emerson‘s mystery character can be seen. He’s standing in a dark room, remarking to someone offscreen that it will be an “incredibly insightful evening.”

A lot is still unknown about Emerson’s character – namely who exactly from the DC Comics mythos he is portraying. But as executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained to ComicBook.com during San Diego Comic-Con, his role will definitely be villainous, but in a much more complex way.

“We are talking about him playing a character who’s got a lot more nuance than the typical creepy-guy role that he is often cast in.” Guggenheim explained. “We’ve had a lot of creative discussions with him, and I think that’s one of the things that has excited us and excited Michael: that we really want to create a character in consultation and in conjunction with him. It’s not just ‘here’s the script — go!’ It’s a really interesting, two-way back and forth.”

Emerson’s involvement in the world of Arrow has also apparently has been a long-time coming, with Guggenheim previously collaborating with him on The Practice.

“We’re just lucky to have him on the show, quite frankly.” Guggenheim revealed. “We’ve been huge fans of his — I actually worked on The Practice when he created the Mr. Hinks role, and it’s been a personal bucket list item of mine to work with him again.”

Arrow returns for its sixth season on Thursday, October 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT following the season premiere of Supernatural on The CW.