Versus Oliver’s previous clashes with Slade Wilson or Malcolm Merlyn, “This is a very different kind of fight,” Guggenheim says. “With Malcolm, it was a battle between two archers. And With Slade, it was an archer and a killer.
“This is very mano a mano,” he continues. “And it’s a sword fight, which is not something we’ve done with Oliver before.”
Superficially, the showdown also boasts a “cinematic venue,” as Guggenheim puts it — one that Mother Nature rendered unexpectedly Christopher Nolan-y. “Obviously we picked the location for its remoteness and epic quality,” Guggenheim notes, “but truth be told, the weather was not cooperative that day. It was less ‘Nolan-y’ and less grey if the weather was cooperating, but it was incredibly rainy and foggy. But when you shoot in Vancouver, that’s the trade-off you make!”
Further surveying the aesthetics of the fight, Guggenheim points out, “Oliver and Ra’s, with their shirts off, is a very intentional nod to the Neil Adams[-created] Batman/Ra’s al Ghul duels from back in the day.”