As I have said many times, The CW's Arrow is a pretty dark show to be as silly as it is sometimes. One might suspect that the network's new series featuring Barry Allen as The Flash would take a similar tack, but the writers developing the series, which will spin off from Arrow, are indicating Barry's show will be brighter and more superheroic than Ollie's.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Barry Allen will appear in three episodes of Arrow next season. He'll be in episodes 8 and 9, and then episode 20 will serve as a backdoor pilot for the new Flash series. All three will be written by the team of Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns.

Kreisberg had this to say about the differences between Barry and Ollie: "Oliver Queen is a very dark and tortured soul, and Barry is not. He's a great character who is going to affect all of our characters' lives. It will be fun … to see these two characters together because they have two different worlds."

Also? No sweatsuits or leather jackets for Barry Allen. Johns said he will be The Flash, name, powers, costume and all, which is a pretty big departure from how The CW has handled its recent superhero shows. Kreisberg said Arrow's characters, who haven't encountered out-and-out superpowers yet (just a machine that can create earthquakes and guys that can magically revive decommissioned subway lines), will react in an "extraordinary" way.

Casting is underway for Barry Allen. Kreisberg joked that "blonds are preferred." As previously noted, there apparently won't be any casting going on for one famous brunette any time soon. The pilot for Amazon, a Wonder Woman series, is on hold.

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