Stephen Amell and Arrow started what we know as the "Arrowverse" on The CW which now consists of hit shows such as The Flash, Supergirl & Batwoman but the actor bowed out from the series after eight seasons. If fans were expecting Amell to want to return on any of the remaining Arrowverse series currently running on the network, they feel a bit disappointed by his answer.
During a recent Instagram live stream, Amell was asked and he'd be open to guest-starring as Oliver Queen aka Arrow in the future, and he quickly, but kindly, turned down the idea:
"No, I'm done. That was good. It was a good eight years, but it was time to be done."
It's not as if Amell looks down on his time with the series. As a fan of the show and the existing Arrowverse, Amell has been the biggest cheerleader for all the shows during his tenure as the character. He has been known to be very open with fans via social media, especially his Facebook page, & during my frequent trips to San Diego Comic-Con, the Arrow panel has always been a highlight because of his enthusiasm for the show. Eight seasons is a long time to be on any series, especially one as physically grueling as Arrow had to be due to its elaborate action set pieces. It's a role he gave 100% to but now it appears that part of his life is in the past and he said he felt a bit of detachment when he caught a recent episode of The CW series, Roswell, New Mexico:
"It was actually really, really weird to watch The CW again. It was weird seeing promos for Supergirl and Flash and Batwoman again. It seems like a different lifetime. I don't think I'll be doing that again."
Amell has already lined up his next series, an hour-long wrestling drama called Heels, set to air on Starz, but like everyone in the industry right now, he's feeling the stall of the recent coronavirus pandemic which has put the project on hold:
"I was ready to shoot my new show Heels and that's been put on hold indefinitely. That's frustrating because I was getting excited. We've got an amazing cast. It's going to be awesome. But for the moment my training has stopped."
On Heels, Amell will play a pro-wrestling villain (or "heel" as it's called in the industry) but the show is more about the very-real rivalry with his brother over control of their late father's independent wrestling organization. It sounds like a much different role than his time as Oliver Queen, which seems like the perfect direction takes on this next phase of his career. The actor also took on CODE 8, which began life as a short film in 2016 alongside his cousin Robbie Amell. Funds to produce the movie were raised through Indiegogo and the full-length film was released in December of 2019. A short-form spinoff series starring Stephen and Robbie Amell was announced to be in development at Quibi soon after the film was released.
Should Stephen Amell consider a return to the Arrowverse?