Arkush says the series, which begins shooting its next 25 episodes on May 1, will return with a bang post-Olympics, with the first and second episodes airing back-to-back. "We're picking up exactly where we left off," he says. "There will be some huge surprises." One change viewers will notice is a new series regular. Though Arkush remained mum on the subject, he did talk about the types of characters that will be making an appearance. "There will be characters coming that you've heard about."

"Villains" will take center stage in the upcoming episodes, as well as the nature of these villains being set loose. "It will be really clear who these villains are," says Arkush. "These are not necessarily characters you've met already. Obviously, there's going to be a lot of Sylar." Will some familiar faces clumped into this category? "One of the things that strikes me as so interesting about the show ("Company Man") was when H.R.G. says, 'I'm very comfortable in the morally grey area,'" says Arkush. "Think about that. Just like when Nathan and Linderman were going to destroy New York for reasons they thought were correct. And who on the show seems to be able to make very hard decisions and has grown as a character? One of those people is Angela (Petrelli)."