‘Arrow’ to End with Season 8
Since Stephen Amell revealed that he told Arrow‘s creative team to treat Season 7 as if it was the last, and write the stories they always wanted to tell, fan’s have been bracing themselves for the end. Well, it’s been an incredible journey, but the Arrow star took to social media last night to confirm that the fan-favorite show will end next season.
Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life… but you can’t be a vigilante forever.
Arrow will return for a final run of 10 episodes this Fall.
There’s so much to say… for now I just want to say thank you.
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) 6 March 2019
As well as being the star of the series, Amell has always maintained a good relationship with the show’s fan base via his social media platforms, so it feels right that this announcement comes from him rather than via a press release. Following the announcement, Amell posted a live video to Facebook to talk in more detail about the series’ end.
In the emotional video, Amell thanked the cast, crew, and creative team who have brought the show to life over the last seven years, the fans for their support, and discussed why he felt it was time, both personally and professionally, for him to move on. Amell makes it very clear that this was his decision, not a network cancellation, revealing that he discussed his decision to depart with Executive Producer Greg Berlanti at the end of Season 6, and saying “I’ve always been a fan of television shows that don’t overstay their welcome, but end in a manner that really packs a punch. And so it has always been my hope that we would know when we were gonna finish this journey and not limp to the finish line, so to speak.”
Ultimately, after discussions with Berlanti, Amell agreed that “the best way to do this would be to have me come back for a limited run in Season 8, which is what we’re gonna do.”
The ten episode Season 8 is due to air this Fall and, in addition to concluding the stories of Oliver Queen and Team Arrow, will no doubt play a key part in building up to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Though many fans suspect Oliver will die in the upcoming crossover, a result of his deal with the Monitor in last year’s Elseworlds event, Amell offers some hope that Oliver will survive the coming Crisis. “Something tells me, even when I’m done I won’t be gone,” he said at the end of his video. “If you’ve watched the Arrowverse you should understand that.”
Whilst Arrow is ending, the show leaves behind a remarkable legacy. In addition to the universe of interconnected shows on The CW, it’s almost certain that Black Lightning wouldn’t exist without Arrow, and there’s a good chance that many of the DC Universe’s original shows, such as Titans and Doom Patrol, wouldn’t exist either. The show started as a stand alone, seemingly grounded in a similar “heightened reality” to The Dark Knight Trilogy, and ultimately became the corner stone of the TV equivalent of the MCU. Looking back at 2012, no one would have believed you if you told them that Arrow would lead to Crisis on Infinite Earths. But it did. That’s an achievement worthy of a super hero.
Arrow‘s seventh season is currently airing Mondays on The CW. Season 8 is expected to premier this Fall.
Chris is a lifelong fan of Disney, Star Wars and super heroes who can’t quite believe this golden age of movies and TV we’re living in. Having written blogs dedicated to Disney’s Aladdin musical and Star Wars Celebration, Chris is excited to be part of the MNN team.
