UPDATED SDCC 2013: CW’s Arrow casts Caity Lotz as a mystery character?

According to The Wrap, Caity Lotz (The Pact ) is set to play Dinah Drake on The CW’s Arrow. Drake was the original Black Canary during the Golden Age, mother to Dinah Laurel Lance.

The Black Canary is a notable character in the DC Comics franchise, and both The CW and the producers of Arrow are high on its potential. She was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, and first appearing in Flash Comics #86 (1947).

While the Black Canary will start out as a recurring role, Lotz is eventually expected to become a series regular, as her character will be cultivated into a love interest for Oliver Queen.

 Wasn’t Katie Cassidy’s Dinah “Laurel” Lance set to become Black Canary?

UPDATE

Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg clears things up a bit while talking to TV Guide, although he doesn’t say who she is playing.

“There’s been a bit of misinformation printed out there and what I would say is, yes, Caity Lotz is joining the show in a recurring role and we’re really excited,” he tells the site. “She’s a tremendously talented actress. The character she’s playing is really the beginning of the story of the Black Canary.”

He also had this to say about her possibly becoming the Black Canary:

 “The character that Caity is portraying is the beginning of the Black Canary story and we’re really excited for the fans to go on the journey with us. So much of our show is about defying expectations, meeting expectations and exceeding expectations, and we really want our fans to experience the show by watching it and enjoying it and enjoying all the twists and turns and surprises the way we intend.”

“Everything about our show is about origins and evolution. When we met Deathstroke, everyone automatically assumed it was Slade Wilson [Manu Bennett] in the mask, but then we revealed we met Slade Wilson later. With Tommy [Colin Donnell], we thought that that was Merlyn, but Tommy was really the beginning of the Merlyn story because we saw how it evolved to John Barrowman and beyond. Oliver [Stephen Amell] himself, when we first meet him, he’s not the Green Arrow yet. The series itself is an evolution of this character.” As for whether or not Laurel Lance will become Black Canary, Kreisberg says, “Everyone knows that Laurel Lance is the Black Canary. That’s the way it is in the comic books, but how we get from A to B is the story of our show. In the same way that Oliver, when we meet him, is the vigilante, but this season he’s going to becoming the Arrow, that’s the step of his journey to eventually becoming the Green Arrow. Laurel Lance right now is a lawyer with a lot of heart and a lot of humanity and courage. But it takes more than that to put on the mask and go out and fight crime. Our series is the evolution of that. People will see how Caity Lotz fits into Laurel’s journey along the way. For us, it’s very emotional and surprising and exciting. I would say to everybody, we haven’t let you down so far. Keep going on this ride with us.”