Stephen Amell is not opposed to the idea of returning to the role of Oliver Queen, and while the Arrow show ended with the death of Oliver Queen as part of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. As the Arrowverse seems to reach its ending with The Flash season 9, a Stephen Amell Arrow return would be the perfect way to wrap up the franchise – especially if it were to happen in a limited capacity.
In a Oliver Queen’s story to a streaming platform for a limited run. Considering how HBO Max has been the home for a lot of DC TV shows, including for shared releases with The CW like Stargirl and Superman & Lois, a limited Arrow return for the streaming platform could work.
Arrow’s Finale Was Definite (But It Left Some Doors Open)
While the Arrow finale did wrap up most of the show’s storylines and gave all of its characters a definite ending, the foundation on which Arrow’s final episodes were built left some doors open for a potential Arrow revival to explore. Following the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, Oliver Queen’s death was far from being a conventional one. The only one of the main Arrowverse heroes without superpowers or a supersuit, Oliver Queen acquires the powers of the Spectre and the Book of Destiny at the end of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, which by itself set the Arrow finale to be very different from what audiences could have imagined a couple of seasons ago. Oliver Queen died by saving the multiverse; a poetic ending for the character who started the Arrowverse.
Still, given how even more “traditional” deaths in the Arrowverse have been reversed, Oliver Queen’s ending could be easily retconned – even if it was only for a limited capacity. The same applies to Felicity Smoak, who was also directly involved with the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and had been last seen speaking with the Monitor before appearing in Arrow’s final episode. The Arrow finale reveals that Felicity was waiting for Oliver in some sort of alternate plane, though it isn’t made clear where exactly Oliver and Felicity were at the end of Arrow. As such, if there were ever to be an Arrow return, it would not necessarily contradict or retcon the Arrow finale – the setups for the returns of Oliver and Felicity are already there.
The Arrowverse Got In The Away Of Arrow’s Finale
As exciting as it was to see Green Arrow save the multiverse, the scale of the Arrowverse got in the way of Arrow’s finale. Instead of an intimate ending that honored the show’s own story, Arrow’s final episodes felt more like an epilogue to “Crisis on Infinite Earths” than a true ending. The first half of Arrow season 8 was very much forgettable, and that is because everything felt small once the four-hour Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event began. The most important part of Oliver Queen’s final story, therefore, didn’t happen as a standalone Arrow episode, but rather as part of a crossover event involving several shows and dozens of characters.
Honoring Arrow’s legacy with a TV adaptation of DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earth made sense, but it limited what the Arrow finale could be. As a show initially built on the realism of Green Arrow and that did not rely on DC superhero cameos to thrive, Arrow did not ask for a multiversal crossover event as its final story. That is why an Arrow return could still work, especially if it focuses on Oliver and his ing characters instead of the Arrowverse’s multiversal scale.
Stephen Amell’s Arrow Return Would Be The Perfect Arrowverse Ending
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” represented the peak of the Arrowverse. Back when the crossover event premiered, six Arrowverse shows were currently airing – not to mention two web miniseries and the announcement of a Superman and Lois show. However, close to three years after “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, the Arrowverse now reaches its ending. Following the cancellations of Black Lighting, Supergirl, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow, it seemed like The Flash and Superman & Lois would be the shows to carry on the Arrowverse. However, Superman & Lois shockingly revealed that it was never part of the Arrowverse’s Earth Prime, thus making The Flash the only official Arrowverse show left. Now that it is confirmed that The Flash season 9 will be the show’s last, and if no new Arrowverse show is officially announced until then, The Flash’s finale will also be the Arrowverse’s ending.
A Diggle spinoff series starring David Ramsey is currently being delivered, but considering how Superman & Lois introduced a non-Earth Prime version of Diggle, Justice U might also not be part of the Arrowverse. Still, instead of an unceremonious ending in which the Arrowverse slowly fades away, the franchise deserves an official ending – and there is no better way to do it than with a Stephen Amell Arrow return. Arrow was the first chapter of the Arrowverse, and it deserves to be the franchise’s last.
How Stephen Amell Can Return As Arrow
In of the story, there are countless ways to bring Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen back. Considering that Oliver Queen’s death in Arrow happened as a result of the Green Arrow using the powers of the Specter, one of the most powerful and complex mystical entities in the DC universe, it would be easy to rewrite Oliver’s death as if his only his soul had been lost or something similar. In fact, a potential Oliver Queen return would not even have to be a definitive one. The Arrow could return for one final mission, except this time with a smaller story that would focus on the core characters from Arrow instead of the entire Arrowverse.
In of format, a limited series as suggested by Stephen Amell would be the best option. Whether it was for The CW or a streaming platform, an Arrow revival should not be worried about kick-starting a new franchise or telling a multiple-season story. Instead, it should aim at combining the classic elements from the Arrowverse with a more modern television language. That is something Superman & Lois, which was born of the Arrowverse, has nailed. Stephen Amell’s return as Arrow added to a reunion of the Arrow cast, a self-contained story, and a different format instead of a 23-episode season would therefore be the perfect Arrow revival.