Season 3 of The CW's "Arrow" will kick off on Wednesday with a bang as Oliver Queen faces new villains, a potential romance with Felicity and a duality complex.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Marc Guggenheim opened up about the season premiere, saying, "This episode is a really good jumping-on point for new viewers. We closed a chapter at the end of season two and this is a brand-new opening."

Although Count Vertigo, a villain played by Seth Gabel, was killed off the show last season, the showrunner dropped spoilers about the new Count, who will appear in Season 3's first episode, titled "The Calm." According to BuddyTV, "Prison Break" star Peter Stormare will play Werner Zytle, who has taken over distributing the drug Vertigo in lieu of death of the original Count. However, the drug will be stronger and have the ability to bring out people's greatest fears.

In a sneak peak teaser video, The Count injects a serum into the Arrow's neck that causes him to begin hallucinating and see an image of himself as Oliver Queen, instead of really seeing The Count while they are fighting.

"You can call me Vertigo," says the new Count as he introduces himself after injecting Oliver with his enhanced drug in the clip.

"Some things never die, you for example," he explains. "It's frustrating. Just means I have to try a little bit harder."

Guggenheim also talked to THR about the highly anticipated kiss that Oliver and Felicity will share, saying "I'm very happy with the circumstances under which they have their first kiss. I hope it's unexpected. I hope it plays as unexpected. I hope it plays as emotional."

He went on to describe their first date at an Italian restaurant as "explosive."

The showrunner teased that Ray Palmer, a character played by Brandon Routh, will meet Felicity at her new day job and will eventually become a serious bidder for ownership of Queen Consolidated. There is also speculation that he will become Felicity's new love interest.

"We know from past seasons that people in charge of Queen Consolidated aren't always the best people. What Ray is planning and up to with his Star City campaign, and what he plans to do with the company will be one of those mysteries," said Guggenheim.

However, the EP neither confirmed nor denied whether Ray will transform into the superhero The Atom.

"Anything is possible. My instinct is if Ray Palmer is going to shrink, he'll probably shrink on another show [The Flash]," he said. "With The Flash in existence, there's no real compelling reason to do superpowers on Arrow because we can bring characters to Flash to have superpowers." Guggenheim teased that they "have plans for Ray that don't involve shrinking" and called them "cool."

"Arrow" fans will also get the opportunity to learn more about the history between Oliver and Laurel in Episode 6.

"They were best friends; they were lovers; they were in love with each other and now they're post-relationship -- but there's this history there that's always going to follow them, and there's always going to be a bond between the two of them," he explained. "There's a scene in episode six where there's a really good example of that."

Guggenheim also talked about Roy's integration into Team Arrow, which began in Season 2's "Tremors" episode.

"We made a big deal about Roy joining the team [back then] and then didn't get a chance to do that much with it because we were pushing a lot of other story," he admitted, promising that Oliver and Roy's "mentor-mentee, master-apprentice relationship" is "a big component of the [new] season." "You really feel like Roy is a part of Team Arrow and it's more than just wearing a costume. He's really present and a member of the group -- the trio becomes a quartet." Guggenheim hinted that Episode 6 -- another Roy-centric hour -- will have similarities to "Tremors." "I wouldn't call it a sequel, but they are thematically related," he said. "Roy being a part of the team is an important part of Roy's development."

In the third episode, viewers can expect to finally hear the conversation that Thea Queen had with Malcom in the limo, Guggenheim teased.

The CW released a synopsis describing "Arrow" Season 3, which states:

"In the aftermath of victory, Season Three opens with Arrow now a hero to the citizens of Starling. Crime is down, people feel safer, and Captain Lance even calls off the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Basking in his success, Oliver believes he can finally have a private life and asks Felicity out on a date. But the second Oliver takes his eye off the ball, a deadly villain reappears in Starling, forcing Oliver to realize that he can never be Oliver Queen -- not as long as the city needs The Arrow."

"Arrow" Season 3 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.

Watch teaser videos below.