Arrow fans have been puzzling over Speedy’s true identity all season. It looked like younger sister Thea (Willa Holland) was a shoe in for the role as Oliver Queen’s sidekick, until Colton Haynes’ Roy Harper appeared on the scene. Has he stolen her job?
“It’s funny – when I came aboard, she asked me the same thing,” he tells SciFiNow exclusively. “Interesting enough, there’s been a few times where I’ve called her Speedy and she’s called me Speedy and they’ve taken those scenes out of the show.”
Haynes revealed that when Arrow Season 2 begins, time will have jumped forward 4 months and Oliver will be missing. This gives Roy a chance to step up, following the destruction of his home, The Glades: “He thinks that because he’s been searching for the vigilante the entire time that he can easily become him, which I don’t think is the case,” Haynes tells us. “We’ll still see him being the smart-ass wannabe that he is, but hopefully he becomes something.”
On the show, Roy’s red hoody alludes to Speedy’s scarlet comic-book costume but Haynes revealed that he might be going all the way this season…
“I have a feeling that possibly red spandex might be in my future,” he says. “I’m trying to get in really good shape.”
There are few different iterations of Roy Harper’s alter ego in the comics, including Titans stalwart Arsenal, Justice League regular Red Arrow or the original kid-sidekick Speedy. Haynes’ personal favourite is Arsenal, because of the emotional baggage he brings.
“He starts to develop a drug problem and he really has to get down and out before he has a redeeming quality,” he explains. “It would be really nice to take that route; to go through the struggles his character has to go through in order to team up with Oliver.”
Arrow Season 1 will be available to own 23 September 2013, pre-order it on DVD for £21.02 or on Blu-ray for £27.49 from Amazon.co.uk. Season 2 will air on Sky 1 later this year.