The Cw’s Arrow premiered onWednesday, October 10, 2012. It was a gutsy idea to make a dark and gritty take on one of DC’s lesser-known superheroes. But the gamble paid off thanks to stellar acting by star Stephen Amell and the rest of the cast. The show follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who claimed to have been trapped on an island alone for five years after a boating accident. When he returns he decides to become a vigilante and stop crime and corruption in his city. He puts on a costume and becomes a secret vigilante who fights with a bow and arrow.
Since then, the show spawned spin-offs and crossovers building up a huge fan base. In 2016 Amell approached the producers about ending the wildly popular show. Season eight has been announced as the last season of Arrow. The final season of the series will be made up of ten episodes contributing to The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. The final season is being hailed as a “love letter” to fans of the show and many of the cast are retutning to guest or star in the final season of Arrow. Here’s a list of all the major actors returning to the show.
1. Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow
Stephen Amell plays Oliver Queen a billionaire playboy (no a different one) who gets stranded on a desert island for five years. After he returns to his home city he starts patrolling the city to honor the memory of his father who sacrificed his life to keep him alive. He delivered brutal justice to those who he felt “failed” the city. First, we went as “Hood” and then “Vigilante”, and finally simply “Arrow”.
Queen continued working to fight crime and expanded his reach from his home city to nearby Central City. There he met Barry Allen who became the Flash. Queen struggled through the loss of his company and his changing role as a hero. Oliver becomes mayor of Starling City. Discovers he had an illegitimate son named William (Jack Moore / Ben Lewis). He’s handled it all with grace and kindness despite his dark past.
Last season Queen confessed to being the vigilante and was sent to federal prison. After his release, he tried to restart his crime-fighting career only to discover his half-sister, Emiko Queen (Sea Shimooka) was actually working with a terrorist organization. The final season is said to include the long-forewarned death of Oliver Queen in the sixth season’s crossover episode “Crisis on Earth-X”. Expect fireworks for the final season of Arrow.
2. David Ramsey as John Diggle / Spartan
David Ramsey plays John Diggle. He starts out as a bodyguard and becomes a close friend and confidant of Oliver. Diggle is a powerful man of deep feeling and spiritual connections. He’s a decorated former United States Army Special Forces soldier and an ordained minister. He married former A.R.G.U.S. Lyla Michaels and became a father to his daughter Sara Diggle.
Over the years he’s gone from a confidant and “moral voice” to a partner of Oliver fighting alongside him as Spartan. Unlike most of Team Arrow, he’s older and has more experience in combat situations. But he’s a man who nursed old pain and has deep-seated resentments to get over. He’s a tough guy and even survived a nuclear explosion, and the gender-switching of his child Sara to JJ thanks to Flashpoint. Diggle’s coming back to bring the pain and the love to Arrow’s finale season. “Diggle has always been on Oliver’s side, and it will be no different in Season 8,” Ramsey told TV Line. “We’ll see them get even tighter, in ways that they haven’t been before.”
TVLine shared pictures of his new Spartan costume.
3. Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog
Rene Ramirez is a dishonorably discharged Marine. He training Laura to become a fighter and later joined Team Arrow in season 5 as the vigilante known as “Wild Dog”. He became a full-fledged member of the team in season six. But later he’s cornered by FBI agent Samanda Watson and is forced to testify against Oliver as the Green Arrow.
This pisses off Olver who kicks him off the team. He rejoins briefly but then gets kicked off again. After Ricardo Diaz threatens his daughter he refuses to testify against Oliver. After Queen is put in prison he defends Star City along with the rest of Team Arrow. Rene is a man who pushes boundaries but always follows his heart. “I would hope that he falls in love [before the series finale], but alas, we see in the future, he’s not married,” Gonzalez admitted in discussing the one thread he would love to see in the final season. “That’s one thing I would have liked to see with Rene, to see that side of him. We see him as a father and learn to be a good father. Now, what would he look like if he fell in love and opened his heart to a woman? That would be nice.” Rene is shown as the Mayor of the Glades in a flashforward to 2040. This season will see him pursuing a political career “beginnings of his aspirations in politics and becoming mayor” of the Glades.
4. Katie Cassidy Rodgers as Laurel Lance / Black Canary of Earth-2
Cassidy is a former assistant district attorney and girlfriend of Oliver Queen. It was the tragic death of her girlfriend Tommy Merlyn that led to a struggle with alcoholism and abuse of prescription drugs. The discovery that her sister Sara is alive and become a vigilante who she later names “The Canary”, that her friend Oliver is the vigilante known as “The Arrow”.
After the death of Sara, Cassidy shows her strength by becoming a vigilante herself and names herself Black canary”. Lance dies but the Black Canary mantle is passed on to Dinah Drake.
An Earth-2 doppelgänger of Laurel becomes District Attorney and changes her name from Black Siren to Black Canary. For the final season of Arrow, she’s going to guest star and Rodgers is scheduled to direct the third episode of Arrow season 8.
She also gets a costume redesign.
5. Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake / Black Canary
Dinah Drake, played by Juliana Harkavy, is a former Central City Police detective who’s partner and lover Vincent Sobel gets murdered after their cover is blown. After the particle accelerator explosion, she gets the ability to emit sonic sound waves when she screams. She becomes a vigilante calling herself Black Canary and huts down the leader of the drug ring that killed her partner. The two have a bittersweet romance before he’s murdered by Earth-2’s Black Siren.
That sends her on a revenge filled killing spree. In whip snapping fashion Dinah is fired and then rehired by STPD. Her secret identity is busted when she uses her canary cry to save Mayor Pollard. So everyone now knows she’s Black Canary now. Dinah loses her ability to give the sonic scream after her throat gets slit by the psychotic serial killer Stanley Dover but gets Sara Lance’s (Caity Lotz) old collar to do the job.
We don’t know where her character will be at the end of season 8. “To be honest, I don’t know where she ends the season, which is the interesting thing of doing television versus film, because you’re going in blind,” Harkavy told Den Of Geek. “But I think, from what I know, she’s coming into herself, because she’s always been so torn. You know there’s always been this duality: am I a vigilante? Am I a police officer? I hope that she sort of settles into that resolve and she finds her place.”
But in the flashforward to 2040, Dinah is part of a vigilante resistance group called the Canary Network along with Black Canary and White Canary.
6. Joseph David-Jones as Connor Hawke
Joseph David-Jones plays the adopted son of John Diggle in an alternate future who changes his name to Connor Hawke. He’s an agent of the future government intelligent agency “Knightwatch” and also operates as the second Green Arrow in the future.
David-Jones first appeared in a two-episode arc on DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow in 2016 as the possible future Green Arrow of 2046. His strange past was revealed in season seven. Turned out his biological father was Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White), but he was adopted by Diggle and Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson). He later joined Team Arrow in early 2019 and was promoted to a series regular for the final season.
7. Katherine McNamara as Mia Smoak / Blackstar
Katherine McNamara plays the daughter of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak named Mia Smoak / Blackstar. She first showed the season seven episode “Unmasked”. In a possible future of 2040, she’s a Star City cage fighter tough-as-nails named “Blackstar”. Later she becomes a superhero and fights alongside the vigilante group “The Canaries”. She appeared in 10 episodes last season but has been promoted to a series regular for Arrow’s final eighth season.
Mia isn’t afraid to use force or violence if it gets her what she wants. But over time she’s shown a more compassionate side. Her past romantic involvement with Connor Hawke should make for an interesting storyline. McNamara recently shared she was nervous about joining the cast after her work on Shadowwhunters but Stephan Amell put her at ease. “Arrow is such a hallmark of superhero television — a classic in its own right — and I have loved jumping in with the folks who have been on the show from the beginning and seeing them get excited and inspired by this new chapter and exploring what creative possibilities that could entail,” She told TV Guide. “Also, having the opportunity to continue my physical training — expanding my fighting skills as well as adding a certain iconic weapon to my proverbial tool belt (thwick) — has been incredible as it was one of the elements I was so sad to lose with Shadowhunters coming to a close.”
8. Ben Lewis as William Clayton
Ben Lewis plays William “Will” Clayton the son of the late Samantha Clayton and Oliver Queen. Clayton was introduced to the show in season two by Jack Moore before becoming a regular guest on the show as young Will in the fourth and fifth seasons of Arrow. He moved in with Oliver in season six before moving out in season seven.
Last season, in the possible future of 2040, the grown-up version of Clayton changed his name to “William Harris” and founded Harris Consolidated. He’s a wealthy genius but despises Oliver adventures because of the death of his mother. He’s also distant to his step-mother Felicity. Eventually, he warms up to his father and Felicity and they become close.
Lewis has been promoted to a season regular for Arrow’s final season presumably for flash-forward scenes in the future. At the end of last season Connor, Mia, and William join forces with past members of Team Arrow Future Rene, Future Dinah, and Future Felicity. The group takes down the wall separating Star City from a gentrified Glades Glades from the rest of the ruined Star City. EW says when the new season begins, “we’ll see the three kids adjusting to becoming the newest incarnation of Team Arrow”.
9. Charlie Barnett as John Diggle Jr.
Charlie Barnett is a new edition to the final season of Arrow but John Diggle Jr. isn’t new to the series. In season five young Diggle Jr. was revealed to have been born to John Diggle and Lyla Michaels in the post-Flashpoint timeline.
A grown-up version of John Diggle Jr. is mentioned in the 2040 Star City flashforward, as a crime boss and the leader of the Deathstroke gang. He and his adopted brother Connor Hawke are on opposite sides of the law and have an intense and broken relationship.
“We’re going to have a bit of sibling rivalry in our future storyline,” Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz told EW. J.J. has “a bit of an edge to him,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim shared at the show’s panel, adding that viewers “are going to be really surprised about the way we bring him in…and particularly what costume he wears.”
10. Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn
Tommy Merlyn was Olver’s best friend and the son of the evil Archer Malcolm Merlyn. At first, he’s a spoiled playboy who lives off his father’s financial support. But he goes on to co-own successful a nightclub and learns his friend Oliver is the Green Arrow. He dies in the first season finale during the events of ‘The Undertaking’. Tommy sacrifices himself to save his girlfriend from a falling building. He was accidentally killed by his own father’s earthquake machine. Tommy’s come back to the show on occasion in hallucinations and flashbacks.
Executive producer Marc Guggenheim says he’s “not coming back as the Tommy we know.”. So apparently Donnell is returning as both Tommy. Also, according to a glimpse from the show shared by Stephen Amell, he has a beard.
Watching the premiere. Great googley woogley. pic.twitter.com/Gmb5K7Ab4e
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) August 19, 2019
11. Josh Segarra as Adrian Chase / Prometheus
When Team Arrow travels to the parallel dimension Earth-X they encounter a doppelganger of Tommy Merlyn. Segarra plays the Earth-X doppelganger Adrian Chase / Prometheus and is a member of the New Reichsmen with Dark Arrow, Overgirl, and the Reverse-Flash. This Tommy turned out to be a real jerkwad and commits suicide.
While details are sparse showrunner/executive producer Beth Schwartz teased EW that “Adrian Chase comes back in a different way than expected”. She added, “We’re really excited about that because obviously, he’s one of our favorite villains.”
12. John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn
John Barrowman plays the wealthy businessman and father of Tommy and Thea Queen named Malcolm Merlyn. It turns out he’s also a “League of Shadows” assassin nicknamed “The Dark Archer”. He went through a bunch of changes after trying to reconnect with his daughter (and Oliver’s sister) Thea. Eventually, he turned to the side of good and worked with Team Arrow on a few occasions. That is before joining “The Legion of Doom” to try and fix his past. In the end, he saved his daughter’s life by stepping on a landmine.
Barrowman got another chance at the role in the alternate universe of “Elseworld” where Malcolm Merlyn is a policeman instead of a homicidal killer. He’s a fan favorite so it’s no surprise he’ll be returning in some form for Arrow’s final season. “Just as much as our fans want to see [favorites return], as people who have been on the show for a long time, we are also fans of these characters. Arrow co-showrunner Beth Schwartz told TVLine. “So we’re going to make sure that everyone has a great final season.”
13. Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen
Oliver Queen’s mother Moira first appeared in the season premiere of Arrow. Ruthless and determined she often did whatever it took to get what she wanted, including orchestrating the kidnapping of her son.
She’s tried to make amends, including going to prison and running for mayor of Starling City. In season two she was killed by Slade in exchange for Oliver and Thea’s life in season two.
Since then Moira Queen has appeared in several flashbacks and dreams. In season five crossover episode “Invasion” Moira appeared in an alternate reality along with her husband Robert.
GreenArrowTV confirmed that she’ll appear in the season eight premiere episode “Starling City”.
Exclusive: Susanna Thompson Returns For The Arrow Season 8 Premiere
14. LaMonica Garrett as Mar Novu / The Monitor and Anti-Monitor
In the Elseworlds crossover last year LaMonica Garett plays the enigmatic Mar Novu. Known as The Monitor he’s a cosmic entity that tests worlds to for an oncoming crisis. He used the Book of Detint to test their world for the threat to the Multiverse. In order to maintain the balance of the Multiverse, In order to rewrite the destiny of the heroes, The Monitor made Oliver promised he would join him to stop the upcoming crisis when the time came. Mar collects on his promise and Oliver goes with him to his possible doom.
This year, in the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline he’s back and is also playing the Anti-Monitor. Garrett said that there’s a “sibling rivalry” between the two. In the comics, the Anti-Monitor is the main villain in the 1985 comic crossover miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. He’s the creator of the multiverse and controls the Antimatter Universe.
@lamonicagarrett will be playing the Anti-Monitor in #CrisisOnInfiniteEarths. Concept art: pic.twitter.com/jTGm3PZypL
— Marc Guggenheim (@mguggenheim) July 21, 2019
15. Rila Fukushima as Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana
Rila Fukushima plays Tatsu Yamashiro also known as Katana. She was Oliver Queen’s handler and mentor in Hong Kong. Yamashiro is the estranged wife of Maseo Yamashiro who later joined the League of Assassins and became known as Sarab. Yamashiro was instrumental in nursing Oliver back to health after his near-fatal duel against Ra’s al Ghul.
The last time we see Kayana is in season four’s “Unchained” where Team Arrow went to find the Lotus. She had joined the Crescent Order and became a guardian of the Lotus. She’s scheduled to appear in the second episode of Arrow season 8 episode titled “Welcome to Hong Kong”. Amell described the episode as “an ode to season 3” in EW’s August cover story.
Arrow returns Oct. 15, 2019, at 9 p.m. on The CW.
What do you think of the cast of the final season of Arrow? Who’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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