2021 has brought TV fans a lot of heartbreak. One such setback facing Arrowverse fans came earlier this year when The CW officially axed its plans for the spinoff, Green Arrow and the Canaries. An episode from Arrow's final season last year served as the backdoor Canaries pilot, and while it looked like it might get picked up for a series order, the network waited around a full year before confirming the project's demise. Because the spinoff's storyline takes place in the future, it might be harder to bring the newest Green Arrow, Katherine McNamara’s Mia Smoak, back into the Arrowverse, but could it happen? McNamara has thoughts.
Even though there’s no longer an Arrow at the head of The CW's superhero universe, the franchise spans across multiple shows that could feasibly find storytelling devices to bring Mia Smoak back easily enough. Characters come back all the time, even from death, and time travel is definitely a possibility with Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash around. With Katherine McNamara’s Mia Smoak as the Green Arrow during her timeline, and Earth-Prime without a Green Arrow in the interim, the actress opened up to Collider about potentially returning to the Arrowverse, as well as how she would feel if given the chance to put the suit back on:
Look, the Arrowverse is what it is and I have no idea what their future plans are, but I would jump at the chance to go back and play again. There are so many wonderful people over at WB and The CW and the whole Berlanti world. I love working there and, if they ever need me back, I’m happy to go shoot arrows again.
Since the main storyline in the “Green Arrow and the Canaries” backdoor pilot was never give a chance to be resolved, with Mia’s superhero journey only just beginning, it’s not surprising that McNamara would want to return to the Arrowverse, even if only for a short-term appearance. Even though Arrow came to an end over a year ago, certain elements are still being explored through other Arrowverse shows, with David Ramsey making his own crossovers in the meantime as John Diggle (though not just Diggle), and even directing some episodes. Meanwhile, The Flash showrunner has revealed that he wants to bring Echo Kellum’s Curtis Holt, a.k.a. Mr. Terrific, to Central City. It’s nice that while Arrow is done, we’re still seeing characters show up in other series so their stories can continue, while also keeping Oliver’s memory alive.
That said, here's hoping the Arrowverse's multi-headed creative teams can find an appropriate storyline for Katherine McNamara that would make sense for Mia to come back to the present. Or to figure out a way to send the Legends on a mission that takes place in Mia’s time? It would be interesting to see more of what Star City is like in the future, as well as to find out whatever happened following the events of the backdoor pilot after William was taken.
While waiting to see if Mia Smoak and other long-gone characters make returns across the Arrowverse, be sure to keep track of all the big shows hitting primetime and beyond during the 2021 Summer TV season. And those hoping to see more from Katherine McNamara soon are in luck, as she'll be in a handful of new features in the coming future, including Agent Game opposite Mel Gibson, and El Tonto opposite Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day.
