Justified’s David Meunier Comes to Arrow As Ishmael Gregor

David Meunier, known to TV fans for his role on FX’s Justified, will join the cast of Arrow in the show’s fifth season as Ishmael Gregor.

Gregor in the comics is a character who’s been known to make a physical transformation into a demon, complete with magical powers, but considering remarks by the showrunners about a more grounded Season Five, it seems likely that his primary role will be as a human running the Russian mob.

Deadline, who first reported the casting, describe his Arrow character as “the slick and intimidating Pakhan (“Godfather”) of the Bratva, whom Anatoly (David Nykl) reports and takes a special interest in Oliver Queen.”

Anatoly, of course, being Anatoly Knyazev, who appeared in Arrow‘s first two seasons. He is one of only a handful of supporting characters to have major roles in both the flashback and the current-day stories.

His reappearance isn’t entirely a surprise, since most fans had hoped David Nykl would reprise the role once it became clear this year’s flashbacks would deal with the Bratva storyline, but there were doubts: most characters tend to vanish from the CW DC Universe once they’re headed for the big screen, and Knyazev played a key role in this spring’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

“Anatoly’s back. David Nykl – we’re so lucky to have him,” showrunner Wendy Mericle toldGreen Arrow TV recently. “He was such a find. He brings so much humor and light to that role, and that relationship between Anatoly and Oliver is something very special. We’re very excited about how he brings Oliver into the Bratva and what happens to Oliver when he’s there.”

Neither Arrow nor Batman v Superman used him in his masked “KGBeast” iteration.

Newly appointed Mayor Oliver Queen finds himself challenged as he fights on two fronts for the future of Star City. With Diggle back in the military and Thea adamant about hanging up her hood as Speedy, Team Green Arrow is down to just Oliver and Felicity – but they’re no longer the only vigilantes in town. Green Arrow’s public defeat of Damien Darhk at the end of Season Four has inspired a new crop of masked heroes to step up and defend the city, though their painful inexperience makes them obstacles, rather than allies, in the field. The arrival of a deadly new adversary will force Oliver to confront questions about his own legacy, both as mayor and as the Green Arrow.

Based on the characters from DC, ARROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Supergirl”), Marc Guggenheim (“Eli Stone,” “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters”), Andrew Kreisberg (“The Flash,” “Supergirl”), Wendy Mericle (“Desperate Housewives,” “Eli Stone”) and Sarah Schechter (“Supergirl,” “Blindspot”).