The season 5 of The CW's "Arrow" just a couple of months away, and news of casting rumors and confirmed news have surfaced online throughout the past months. The news about the addition of WWE superstar, Cody Rhodes AKA "Stardust" excited a lot of fans as Arrow lead, Stephen Amell had an ongoing, yet scripted feud with Rhodes in a storyline of the WWE. Now, according to IB Times, action star Dolph Lundgren is said to join the cast as a still unknown villain.

Although the showrunners of Arrow has yet to reveal who Lundgren will be portraying, it has been alluded to that his character will be more connected to the Russian mafia, "Bratva" which has been touched upon numerous of time during Oliver Queen's flashbacks, and some more recent on the show's timeline. The Bratva gave Oliver some hardships during his stay in Russia before he went back to Starling City. While flashbacks have been a major part of the storytelling in Arrow, writers of the show confirmed that Oliver's flashback will further the information that audiences have regarding Oliver's dark past. Writers also stated that the flashbacks will get more interesting.

In a report by Cinema Blend, Wendy Mericle, the executive producer of the long running CW show, "Arrow" stated that Lundgren's character will act more like a government muscle, with a very fearsome power. The writers also revealed that they have done extensive research on the Bratva, as well as the Russian prison system, in order to ensure fans that what they will experience in every Russian scene will be authentic, and as dark as possible.

The writers have also revealed that the upcoming season of Arrow will be avoiding anything mystical, in opposed to what was delved into in the last season. Lundgren's character, although as strong as he is, will not be of mystical origin. The flashbacks will mostly be focused on Oliver's time in Russia and be much more grounded than season 4.