http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/arrow/251849/arrow-season-5-casting-update
Arrow Season 5 Villain
Chad L. Coleman, known to fans of The Walking Dead as Tyreese, looks to be this year's big villain. Mr. Coleman has been cast as Tobias Church, an original creation for the show. IGN broke the news with a casting breakdown describing Church as "an imposing gangster looking to unite the various criminal enterprises in Star City under his own singular command."
TV Line had the first info on the villain, saying that the show is taking inspiration from Idris Elba's Stringer Bell on The Wire. The info TV Line has describes Anton Church as "a ruthless crime lord who sets out to fill the sizeable void left by Damien Darhk and HIVE" and "an apex predator" looking to take down "the biggest threat first." One has to imagine that's Oliver Queen.
Earlier, Stephen Amell added some clues while speaking to Variety. “I’ve heard that our big bad, our villain, is something that you can really only do once you’re in the fifth, sixth or seventh season of a TV show,” he said.
The show is introducing its own version of Artemis this season, too. But you've already met her. Remember the young lady who impersonated Black Canary during season four's "Canary Cry" episode? Variety reports that Madison McLaughlin will return to the show as Evelyn Sharp, but this time she has her own superheroic identity.
This isn't the Artemis of the comics, but then again, Arrow is fond of taking liberties with obscure characters. Ms. McLaughlin will join the show with the second episode of the season and is expected to be around for several more episodes throughout the season.