‘Arrow’ season 3: How Brandon Routh came to be Ray Palmer

While there is definitely at least one high-profile casting still to come on “Arrow” season 3 in Ra’s al Ghul, the one that stands out the most so far is Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer, the billionaire businessman who is competition for Oliver Queen not just with Queen Consolidated, but also with Felicity Smoak. After two seasons of pining mostly after Oliver, she’s going to have a whole gallery of suitors seemingly now! There is the date with Oliver in the premiere, the presence of Ray, and also Barry Allen over on “The Flash.”

One thing that we do know is that the show was apparently so serious on making sure that the chemistry between Ray and Felicity was there that they did specific tests for this very thing. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg explains how Routh ultimately landed the gig:

“[Brandon] actually did a chemistry test with Emily [Bett Rickards] and we didn’t have any doubt [before], but when everyone saw that, the two of them just jumped off the screen together.”

Will we ultimately see a ton of Ray on the show? Beyond season 3, the future is a little unclear; however, we can at least say for sure that he is going to be around for a sizable chunk of the episodes throughout the next year or so. This means that if Oliver really is going to want Felicity, he’s going to have to up his game rather than just be the distant guy she pines after.

If you want to see the current “Arrow” cast talk about some of the cool things that lie ahead, just head over here and check out that video today! You can also sign up now for our CarterMatt Newsletter in the event that you want further updates on all we cover today.

Photo: The CW