After the much-discussed release of the series trailer, it's safe to say that The CW's Arrow has grabbed the attention of many a television viewer and comic book fan. However, considering the character of Oliver Queen was already a major part of Smallville, some questions still linger as to how much of a resemblance this new Green Arrow will have to the character made popular by Justin Hartley.

Series lead Stephen Amell (90210, Hung) recently talked about his role as Oliver Queen/Arrow, the kind of superhero universe fans can expect to see in the upcoming show, and how this version of Queen is different from the one previously seen on the same network.

One of the key points brought up by Amell, courtesy of IGN, was that this version of the character won't be tussling with any super-powered villains or teaming up with the likes of Clark Kent anytime soon.

In fact, it sounds – for the time being, anyway – like The CW is sticking by their guns and Arrow will be a more grounded take on the character and the superhero genre as a whole.

In the interview, Amell said:

"We tried to make [the character of Arrow] as real as possible. The character doesn’t have any superpowers. Nobody on the show has any superpowers. David Nutter – I think he said this when a picture of the costume was released – when he made 'Smallville,' he wanted to find the humanity in Clark Kent. We’re looking for the humanity in Oliver Queen too. He’s gone through a ton to get to where he is, and we’re going to explore how he got there. But we wanted to make sure that he was really properly weighted and real."

"Properly weighted" and "real" don't necessarily rule out Arrow playing host to some of DC Comics' many non-powered characters at some point. In addition to DC's Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns possibly stepping in to write an episode, Amell suggests that the door is wide open for DC characters other than core Green Arrow cast members to appear in the series.

David Ramsey Stephen Amell Arrow The CW

"Stay tuned. I know that the people that are working on the show [...] love comics. I know that Geoff Johns from DC Comics…he was up there [on set]. I think that he’s going to write an episode eventually. It would be unfortunate if, being a comic book show, we didn’t draw from all the characters in the DC Universe. I hope we do."

Rumor has it that the pilot is loaded with Easter eggs for comic fans. Whether or not those clues will hint at potential future villains, heroes, or storylines remains to be seen, but it sounds as though we'll be seeing some Arrow versions of popular characters before too long -- especially with Johns involved somewhere down the line.

With regard to how this Oliver Queen will differ from the one who appeared in Smallville, Amell told Zap2it that the dissimilarity will be obvious from the start:

"I think we find Oliver Queen more injured than we saw him before. Other than in name, there are virtually no similarities between [Hartley's version and the new version]. It's not to say that one's better than the other, it's just that they're so different, it's almost weird to compare them."

Should the series prove a success, perhaps Arrow could be the start of a new televised DCU. The idea certainly played a part in Smallville lasting for 10 seasons, and with this series having its own set of ground rules, there is plenty of opportunity for some fresh takes on well-established characters. Let's see if Arrow brings any of them aboard after the series launches this fall.

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Arrow will air Wednesday nights @8pm starting this fall on The CW.

Source: IGN, Zap2it