Arrow star Stephen Amell had a little bit to say about Arrow season 5 following the end of season 4 while promoting his movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of Shadows. He is the only member of cast or crew who really spoke up about the upcoming season of the superhero show.
Now the rest of the cast is talking more and more as Arrow season 5 gets closer to airing. At the Heroes and Villains Fan Fest panel over Independence Day weekend, Amell and the rest of the Arrow cast opened up about what fans can expect. They talked about everything from Supergirl, to new guest stars and, of course, Olicity drama.
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As with most panels, the discussion encompassed a number of topics as the actors answered a variety of questions. Here are just some of the highlights and the most interesting bits of conversation as reported first by TVLine.
Things started off with Stephen Amell announcing that his on-screen “rivalry” with WWE wrestler Stardust would continue on Arrow. Cody Rhodes, AKA Stardust, who left the WWE recently, will guest star in an Arrow season 5 episode as a villain for Oliver Queen to take down. Amell and Rhodes first faced off as a part of a storyline on the WWE.
He wasn’t the only villain that the panel discussed. There was even more conversation about the main villain of Arrow season 5, Tobias Church, who will be played by The Walking Dead’s Chad L. Coleman. “The villain that we are introducing is a direct result of things that Oliver has done in Star City,” Amell said, “[He] calls back to a lot of things that happened in the first season of the show. It really grounds the show and really focuses on its core value, which is the battle to save Star City.”
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Grounding was the theme of the day for Amell at the panel as he also said, “The first two episodes [of Season 5] refocuses us on what the core mission of the show should be, and that to me is very exciting.” This is after admitting that the show has moved away from that in recent years with crossovers, multiple universes and the like.
Of course, the cast did also mention the announced Supergirl crossover. David Ramsay, who plays Diggle, discussed what he would like to see happen when his character meets Kara Zor-El: “I wanna see Diggle’s expression when he sees Supergirl flying across the horizon. I want to know what that is.” His main theory, right now, is that, “He’s going to pee on himself right there.”
Lastly, Amell, who has been tight-lipped about the subject, discussed Oliver and Felicity’s relationship going forward on the show. “I was chatting with a couple of fans earlier and they were saying there hasn’t been a lot of positivity and reassuring notions when it comes to Oliver and Felicity’s relationship,” Amell said. “I think that it’s important to remember that relationships on the show don’t have to be only defined by romance. Oliver and Felicity could have a wonderful, fulfilling, dynamic relationship and not be together, right?”
The live audience did not agree with this assessment and after hearing their boos, Amell said, “That wasn’t a question, OK. That’s how the world works! So we will see where they are this year.” Amell continued, “I hope that they’re both in a happy positive place. Whether that means they’re together or not remains to be seen.”
Other tidbits include:
- Diggle will get a new helmet, courtesy of The Flash‘s Cisco Ramon, and a new baby courtesy of casting. The helmet change comes after all the jokes that fans had about Diggle’s new helmet in season 4. The new baby comes from the fact that a new actress will be cast as Diggle’s baby Sara. (This probably suggests a time jump between season 4 and season 5.)
- Willa Holland hopes that her character Thea will refocus on herself in season 5.
- Quentin Lance will not be reinstated as captain of the Star City police force.
- Katrina Law, who plays Nyssa Al Ghul, referred to making out with Caity Lotz as her favorite “stunt.”
So what do you think? What is the most exciting bit of news for you? Are you looking forward to season 5? Do you think Felicity and Oliver will stay “just friends” or is Amell just playing coy?
Arrow season 5 premieres Wednesday, October 5 at 8pm on The CW.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
