Arrow Whitewashes Another DC Comics Character, The Flash Heats Up With Firestorm

Yes, Warner Bros., Vinnie Jones is a very cool actor. But you didn’t need to cast him in a role meant for a POC, did you?

When I heard the news of another DC villain being brought into the DC TV fold I was excited. Especially considering it was Brick, the metahuman created by created by Judd Winick and Phil Hester for Green Arrow, who had a very interesting story arc I won’t get into here for fear of spoilers. But then I saw they cast British actor Vinnie Jones for a three episode run on Arrow.

Now granted, Daniel Brickwell’s skin is reddish, like brick, but I could have swore he was actually African American. It had been a while since I read his story but sure enough, both Winick and Hester confirmed to me on Twitter that Brick is a POC. You may recall us expressing disappointment in the actor they chose to play Ra’s al Ghul this season as well. Some argued on that one but in this latest case, there’s no denying the whitewashing. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

In other brief CW casting news, General Hospital’s Roger Howarth has landed a recurring role on The Flash according to Deadline. He’ll “play Mason Bridge, an award-winning reporter from the Central City Picture News. He’s assigned to shepherd new employee Iris West (Candice Patton), but their relationship becomes complicated when Bridge begins to investigate Barry’s mentor, Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh).”

And speaking of The Flash, recently cast half of Firestorm Robbie Amell (the other half is Victor Garber apparently) spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about playing Ronnie Raymond. Spoilery things for tonight’s episode and the rest of the season.

“You meet Ronnie Raymond [tonight] and then in December, you meet Firestorm. It’ll take a minute before Firestorm turns back into Ronnie because when they find him in December, my character is really going through some stuff. He’s schizophrenic, doesn’t know what’s happening, he’s confused and dangerous to the people around him. You may not see Ronnie Raymond for a little while, but you’ll see Firestorm,” he told them. “People will barely recognize him in December, but they’ll know it’s him when the fire bursts in the hands and the fire bursts in the head. The particle accelerator almost killed Ronnie and the fallout from it will definitely be seen in December.”

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