DC superhero The Flash is being developed into a new live-action TV series by the CW. However, the character will be first introduced on Arrow in the upcoming second season.

CW president Mark Pedowitz confirmed the news at the Television Critics Association press tour: “We plan to introduce a recurring character [on Arrow] and an origin story for Dr. Barry Allen, who you know as The Flash.” Pedowitz added, “We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully it will go well. We do want to expand upon the DC universe. We think that there are rich characters that we can use and we thought this was a very organic way to get there.”

As for how Flash came to be at CW, Pedowitz revealed: “I actually called [DC Entertainment president] Diane Nelson up I think about November or early December and I said, ‘Did you guys ever think about developing The Flash?’ And Diane said, ‘Have you spoken to [Warner Bros. Television president] Peter Roth?’ I said, ‘No, not yet,’ and it turned out that Peter and Greg and Diane and [DC Comics’ CCO] Geoff Johns — it was Geoff Johns’ favorite character – and I came to the same point, saying, ‘This would be a great character to do.’ And they felt that the best way to launch this character is to have an origin story on Arrow.”

Regarding the lack of superpowers on Arrow and how The Flash might work there: “Well there’s a big DC universe of super-powered characters who do intersect and don’t intersect. But most importantly, remember, it’s an origin story! So he may not come in with super powers.”

As for who will play Barry Allen, Pedowitz said, “We’re just beginning to cast. I’m from the old school. TV creates stars. If we get a name great, if we don’t get a name, they’ll become a name.”

As for when we’ll see Barry on Arrow, Pedowitz said, “I think he’ll appear sometime this fall and then onward into next year.”