Arrow: Deathstroke And Amanda Waller Are Not Off the Table

Despite the suspicions of some fans, both Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and ARGUS director Amanda Waller remain fair game for Arrow, executive producer Marc Guggenheim told reporters at a roundtable Friday following a screening of Wednesday's episode.

"I haven't been informed that [Deathstroke] is off the table," Guggenheim said. "We have Slade Wilson ideas and we talk about it. I know that Manu is shooting another TV series in New Zealand, so there's some practical things but he's not off the table, at least as far as I'm aware."

He said that both Manu Bennett, who plays Deathstroke on the series, and Amanda Waller actress Cynthia Addai-Robinson are busy and in-demand actors, which is more to blame for their characters' absence than any unwillingness on the part of DC Entertainment or Warner Bros. Television.

"Amanda's not off the table either," the producer explained. "Cynthia's wonderful; she's a great actress. The challenge that we had with her this season is that she was first on a series called Texas Rising and then when that finished she was on a movie called The Accountant, and Arrow was always in second position because she's not a series regular. So you probably felt us working around her availability. But we love her and we have a story idea for her for Season Four and anything is possible."

Recently, Bennett objected to the way Deathstroke had been treated in his sole appearance in Season Three of Arrow, seemingly suggesting that he's finished with the series. That sparked discussion about which, if any, characters slated to appear in David Ayer's big-screen Suicide Squad movie will be available to Arrow and The Flash. Recently, it was confirmed that Michael Rowe's Deadshot wouldn't be reappearing anytime soon following his apparent death in this season's episode "Suicidal Tendencies." His character will be played by film and music superstar Will Smith in Ayer's movie.

Arrow returns on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.