DC Comics has an insanely deep roster of heroes and villains, which means the Arrow-verse has managed to make good use of some great characters over the years. Some have managed to pop up consistently, but one fan-favorite team that hasn't made an appearance in a long time is the Birds of Prey ensemble. Although there are currently no publicly-made plans to re-form the team, Huntress actress Jessica De Gouw is possibly returning to Arrow this year, which makes it a distinct possibility. Here's Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim with an interesting answer about The Huntress' return.
I want to say, 'Absolutely.' Jessica De Gouw has expressed an absolute willingness to come back. Jessica's a favorite actor of mine, and the Huntress is a favorite character of mine. I want to make it happen in Season 6. We've got some plans for the later half of the year that I think she will fit into really well, so we'll see.
With five full seasons of Arrow under his belt, Marc Guggenheim has mastered the art of the tease, and his comments indeed make it sounds like Helena "Huntress" Bertinelli could return this season, which means we could see a proper resolution to some particular arcs established when she last appeared in Season 2. Though his mention of storylines that she could "fit into" were not specifically laid out as Huntress-centric storylines, there aren't exactly a zillion plotlines she'd perfectly match up with. Guggenheim seems to indicate that she could become part of an ensemble, which would pave the way for a full-blown Birds of Prey revival on The Emerald Archer's solo series.
Of course, the Birds of Prey team would look considerably different than they did last time we saw them on Arrow. With Laurel Lance now dead and gone, and Sara Lance being pretty comfortable in her new role as the leader on Legends of Tomorrow, this could pave the way for Huntress to team up with the more newly established Dinah Drake's Black Canary and Felicity Smoak's Overwatch (who is totally not Oracle, right?). With regards to Marc Guggenheim's comments about a Huntress-infused story, this avian-tinged conjecture just seems to make the most sense.
Besides, who wouldn't want to see Huntress face off against another Canary in Star City? Last time that happened, we were treated to one of the best Arrow fights of all time.
If Arrow plans on using the Birds of Prey team at some point, sooner is definitely going to be better than later. DC has a habit of taking certain characters, teams, and ideas off of the table for the TV universe when they want to use them in the silver screen DCEU. (That was the case with Deadshot and Harley Quinn when Suicide Squad hit theaters.) There are already plans to potentially adapt Gotham's team of badass female heroes when David Ayer's Gotham City Sirens debuts. So if two Birds of Prey teams cannot co-exist at the same time, then Arrow needs to introduce and wrap up that storyline to give Helena the redemption that she has been seeking for the last four years. After all, the Birds deserve more than just a single moment to soar.
Whether or not the Birds of Prey will return to Arrow remains to be seen, but there's a passionate fanbase that wants to see it happen. Arrow will debut Season 6 on Thursday, October 12 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Before then, take a look at our summer TV premiere guide to mark your calendars for all of this season's biggest debuts, such as The Defenders and The Tick.
