Tony Todd to Voice The Flash's Arch-Foe

Tony Todd will voice Zoom in the second season of The Flash

In the aftermath of the events of The Flash‘s dramatic season one finale last May, it sounds like we’re going to be seeing a major update of the Reverse-Flash. Variety today reports that the character, now known as Zoom, will not only receive a physical makeover, but will be voiced in season two by the legendary Tony Todd.

“Last year, with the Reverse-Flash, we just modulated Tom Cavanagh’s voice,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg tells the outlet, “and this year we wanted to do something a little bit different. Part of the mystery of the season is who or what is underneath the Zoom outfit, and so we wanted to do something like James Earl Jones as Darth Vader — this iconic voice coming out of this mask. Last year, we thought of the Reverse-Flash as a speed warrior; this year, Zoom is like a speed demon, and no one does demon-voice better than Tony Todd.”

A prolific actor with nearly 200 credits to his name, Tony Todd has starred in films like Oliver Stone’s Platoon and Michael Bay’s The Rock. He’s also well known for horror franchises like Candyman and Final Destination. What’s more, Tony Todd is no stranger to DC Comics. In addition to appearing on “Smallville” in 2011, Todd has voiced Darkseid in multiple LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes animated features.

“The Zoom outfit is much more organic than the Reverse-Flash suit,” Kreisberg teases of what we’ll see when the character makes his re-introduction in episode 2×02, “Flash of Two Worlds.” “In a way, it’s hard to tell if it is a suit or alive… There’s no skin showing, for all you know there’s a robot underneath, or dark energy.”

The Flash stars Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash, Candice Patton as Iris West, Rick Cosnett as Eddie Thawne, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon and Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West. It’s executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, David Nutter and Sarah Schechter.

The Flash will premiere its second season on Tuesday, October 6 at 8 p.m. EST.

(Photo credit: WENN.com)