The CW’s The Flash is gearing up for quite the big farewell season, with more than a few major Arrowverse returns being announced ahead of the highly anticipated premiere. Among the returnees is Stephen Amell, who's set to reprise his role as Oliver Queen three years after Arrow’s series finale, even despite Oliver’s story ending somewhat permanently during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event. Showrunner Eric Wallace is opening up about how he nailed down Amell, who really had one request that needed to be fulfilled.
Eric Wallace gave TVLine the down low on how the process went as far as securing Stephen Amell for the final season of The Flash. The reunion between the superheroes will apparently be epic yet emotional for all involved, which possibly played into Amell's decision to return, though he had his own stipulation. And Wallace claimed he was immediately on board with the idea, saying:
It’s a two-pronged answer. I called up Greg and said, ‘I have a crazy idea. What if Oliver Queen camee back…,’ and I pitched the story. He was like, ‘I love it, let me call Stephen.’ So he called Stephen, then called me back: ‘Stephen loves it! Talk to him, pitch him the idea.’ So I got on the phone with Stephen — and this is all happening within a span of 18 hours, mind you — and I walked him through it. He said, ‘I love it. But can we do this extra thing…?' ‘Let’s do that! That’s fantastic.’ And the call ended with [Amell saying], ‘I’m in. Let’s make this happen.’ It happened that fast.
When Stephen Amell was initially announced to be returning for The Flash, he got honest about reprising the Green Arrow and made sure that fans knew how happy he was to be returning in any capacity, though he obviously couldn't divulge any details at the time. And if Eric Wallace was just as quick to say yes to Amell's request as the actor was to sign on for another appearance, it will surely be one for the ages. (Specifically whatever ages Barry didn't time-bungle at any point.) For now, the specifics behind his request aren't being shared, but we can only assume it'll be obvious when the time comes.
Just because Stephen Amell is returning as Oliver Queen, don’t think that it’s going to erase what happened in the final season of Arrow. It’s unknown exatly how Oliver will come back, but Eric Wallace confirmed that Arrow’s eight seasons are still very much canonically intact. And went so far as to say Amell's episode will definitely require some Kleenex:
We don’t change what has happened in the eight seasons of Arrow … we honor all of that. There won’t be a dry eye in the house at the end of that episode. It’s extremely emotional.
It’s not surprising to hear that the episode is going to be emotional, since Barry and Oliver’s friendship was always an Arrowverse highlight. Stephen Amell has kept the Green Arrow close to him since the finale aired, even getting a tattoo tribute in honor of his hooded vigilante. While it was a surprise to hear Oliver would be returning, it only makes sense that Amell would be involving with closing out a fictional universe he helped to conceive, and I wouldn’t want it any other way, no matter how the return goes down.
Season 9 of The Flash will see the return of numerous Arrowverse characters, including Reverse-Flash 1.0 and some version of Eddie Thawne, and it’s very likely that more will be announced in the coming weeks and months. Since the series is the last remaining Arrowverse show, with Superman & Lois existing outside that reality, rounding up as many alums as possible only makes sense. they can just make sense. It should also be noted that David Ramsey will be returning as John Diggle for the same episode as Amell, which should be another emotional reunion to look forward to.
The ninth and final season of The Flash premieres on Wednesday, February 8 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW, so make sure to watch to see Stephen Amell and other Arrowverse stars return in an upcoming episode! Check out CinemaBlend’s 2023 TV schedule to see what else to look out for this year.
