After ending Season 2 with an extraordinary blowout, the next season of "Arrow" will turn things up a notch with new villains and epic TV crossovers with "The Flash."

In addition to facing a new villainous threat, Oliver Queen will also cope with his inner conflict over his role as The Green Arrow in Season 3.

Unlike in last season when the Arrow squared off with Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, Oliver will face-off with an adversary who doesn't hold a personal vendetta against him next season.

"What's interesting about the villain in season three is that he doesn't necessarily disagree with [Oliver]. He doesn't have any personal animus towards the Arrow, and he actually in some ways has a very similar worldview. [But] the Arrow is thinking too small," hinted Arrow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Kreisberg continued, saying, "In some ways, as Oliver is struggling with whether or not he can be the Arrow and Oliver at the same time, the villain of season 3 is saying, 'Being Oliver Queen is what's holding you back from fulfilling your true destiny.' So it's a very interesting dynamic, but it is tied in the same way that Oliver last year was wrestling with, 'Am I a hero or a killer?' The theme of identity is tied up very much in how the villain is presented to Oliver."

Season 3 will also feature a highly anticipated special two-hour series crossover with "The Flash" in the eighth episode of both shows, around November.

"It's really going to be an adventure with the Arrow and Flash on both episodes. Watching the two teams come together and fight alongside each other, it's one of the most fun parts," says Kreisberg. "We just don't believe in waiting. We really believe in accelerated storytelling and especially for those first nine episodes of the season -- for both shows -- hopefully we've designed it so that none of these [make you say], 'Well, I missed that one, it's fine.'"

Executive producer Greg Berlanti added that, "When we were doing Arrow, we talked about Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. When we were talking about The Flash, we talked a lot about Dick Donner's Superman films -- its heart and humor and scope and Americana," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Berlanti dropped more spoilers about what to expect, saying "There will be a villain in each one that will be more evocative of that show so that will help separate them out. But there'll be an overarching story to the two episodes. It's a first for us. I just know that it's something, as a fan, I would want desperately."

In addition, the Arrow will make a special appearance in episode four of "The Flash" and bring Felicity along for his journey to Central City.

Season 3 of "Arrow" premieres on Oct. 8 on The CW.