Charley Gallay/WireImageIt's time to meet the Flash!
Arrow has finally found the man to play Dr. Barry Allen aka the Flash in the upcoming second season: Glee's Grant Gustin has landed the highly coveted role, which could potentially land him his own spinoff, E! News has confirmed.
Gustin will first appear in the eighth episode of Arrow and then in episodes nine and 20, the latter of which will serve as the backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff series centering on the Flash. The CW announced the plan to introduce the beloved DC Comics character earlier this summer, with network president Mark Pedowitz saying, "We're planning an origin story, and we'll see how it goes."
Barry will be introduced to viewers as an assistant forensics scientist working for the Central City police department as a string of robberies may have a connection to a tragedy in his past. Barry also happens to be a comic book fan boy who is obsessed with the Arrow and is unaware that working with Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) to solve the crime has brought him right into the dangerous world of the vigilante.
Star Stephen Amell shared some words of advice for Gustin on Twitter, writing, "You should probably start stretching your hamstrings like...immediately. Congratulations!" Colton Haynes also tweeted his congratulations. "Arrow season 2 has found its Flash. Congrats, welcome aboard bud!"
At the Summer TCA Press Tour, Pedowitz talked about Barry's introduction on Arrow. "There's a big DC universe where super-powered characters do intersect and don't intersect," he said. "But remember, it's an origin story so he may not come in with superpowers." Arrow executive producers Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti and DC Comics Chief Creative Officer are set to cowrite Barry's three Arrow episodes.
Gustin is known for his role as the villainous Sebastian on Fox's hit Glee and guest-starred on the final season of the CW's 90210.
Arrow returns on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. on the CW.