Stephen Amell Reflects On Oliver Queen’s Death In Arrow Season 8 Ending

Arrow star Stephen Amell reflects on the death of Oliver Queen, a.k.a. Green Arrow, at the end of season 8. The CW has been one of the primary destinations for comic book and superhero fans for over a decade. While the network was the home of Smallville way back in 2001, it wasn’t until showrunner Greg Berlanti became involved that The CW started to become well known for its extensive slate of DC TV shows. In October 2012, Arrow premiered on The CW, retelling the story of Star City’s Emerald Archer, which was just the beginning of the larger universe that is now known as the Arrowverse.

After eight long years, Arrow season 8 served as the show’s final season, in parts to help service the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. With Oliver being destined to die in the massive 5-part event, fans went through an emotional rollercoaster as the crossover saw the Green Arrow die more than once. It has been more than two years now since the Arrow series finale aired on The CW, where the characters bid farewell to their fallen hero. However, given the structure of the Arrowverse, the door is always open for any actor to come back in some capacity.

As of late, Amell has been busy starring in the wrestling drama Heels. In an interview with Den of Geek promoting the show, Amell was asked how he feels now about Oliver’s death and the actor reflected upon the heartbreaking storyline. While talking about the conversations he had with Berlanti leading up to the final season, he said it was important to him that they were able to maintain creative control over Oliver’s ending. Check out his comments below:

“What means a great deal to me is we did get to control the ending. That happens so rarely. To have that conversation with Greg Berlanti during the sixth season, and to decide that seven and then a truncated version of the eighth season would wrap up the story, it’s just such a blessing, because we got to do it the right way. We got to say goodbye to people in the right way. In my opinion, the way it should end for any superhero without superpowers is in the ground. Although I think Oliver just turned into energy. So you know, never say never.”

The death of Oliver still holds up as one of the larger Arrowverse’s rarest moves in its decade-long run. None of the other shows have ever killed off the lead, especially not more than once. But in Oliver’s case, as Amell puts it, a superhero without superpowers could always theoretically be killed during their crusade. Only time will tell whether or not other Arrowverse series will ever do something similar as a way to end their shows. However, since Arrow already did it, it would lessen the chances as it wouldn’t necessarily feel as unique to kill the lead hero following Oliver.

Whether or not audiences will ever get to see Oliver again in the Arrowverse in any capacity remains to be seen. While the chances that they will ever fully resurrect the Green Arrow are slim, there are other ways for Amell to revisit the Arrowverse. Even though the other heroes don’t know that the Multiverse still exists post-Crisis, Amell could portray a Green Arrow doppelgänger from another Earth. Another option is to utilize Oliver’s status as The Spectre, which could provide a satisfying arc without necessarily erasing his death. As the Arrowverse continues, Arrow fans will have to wait and see if Amell will ever be back in the franchise.

Source: Den of Geek

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Andy Behbakht
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Andy is a senior writer at Screen Rant as he has covered the world of entertainment journalism since 2010, including superhero/comic book media. In addition to his work as a reporter, Andy co-hosts The Flash Podcast while running and producing the entire DC TV Podcasts network. He is also the founder/editor-in-chief of The Marvel Report since Fall 2015. Andy has previously written for sites such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It’s Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more.

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