SDCC 2016: Arrow Panel Liveblog

Arrow's 2016 Comic Con International: San Diego panel is starting now. We'll update live throughout the panel.

The presentation starts with a sizzle reel. Oliver reminisces about the Season Four finale, talking to Laurel's grave. Laurel's final words to him were that he can't go alone. Felicity wants ot put together a new team, including Wild Dog, Artemis, and Mr. Terrific. Green Arrow fights them all, and in flashback fights Russian mobsters. Thea tells Oliver she can't work the team anymore. Oliver is attacked by a hulking figure in a hood and mask.

"Donald Trump," jokes Marc Guggenheim when asked who the man in the mask was. "We call him Prometheus. It's not the Grant Morrison/Howard Porter Prometheus from JLA but a new character who fits into the idea of legacy that's going to be driving all of our characters this year."

"We will definitely see [Katie Cassidy] in 501, and we have made a deal with her across Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow, so Katie Cassidy is definitely not gone from this universe."

"What we see now with Oliver is that he sees shades of gray and he's back to the mission of first and foremost what's important is that I'm doing what my father asked me to do and defending Star City."

Both Oliver and in the flashbacks will close the chapter of the five year flashbacks and while it's not planned as the last season it will give them a good place to start over from.

The show's hundredth episode will be 508: Part 2 of the big crossover with Arrow, Flash, Legends, and Supergirl.

Felicity is dealing with the guilt of killing the 10,000 people in Happy Harbor, says Emily Bett Rickards.

"At least he got laid last season," says Paul Blackthorne of Lance, joking that the writers do terrible things to him.

"That was the oldest relationship in the history of The CW," jokes Guggenheim.

"Whether or not you guys ever see it, my backstory is that Lance is an Uber driver now," says Blackthorne.

"He's in Chechnya and he's an Uber driver," says David Ramsey of Diggle at the start of Season Five. "He's with the Special Forces handling some stuff over there. He misses the team but he's still dealing with the tragic death of Black Canary and why he pulled the trigger on killing his brother." Diggle is "still conflicted about the events of Season Five."

"I think Curtis is just really influcend by Green Arrow. He looks up to him," says Echo Kellum.

We're going to find out a lot of his backstory this year, especially with respect to his marriage. "He wants to become a vigilante and he wants to start fighting crime," says Guggenheim. "At the same time, he's got this husband at home that's probably going to start to notice that he's coming home with bruises and cuts."

"I think that Thea's definitely gone through a lot in the last season," says Willa Holland. "I think this year, she's going to be doing a lot of stuff, helping out Oliver like she has in the last season, but in a different way."

"What a garbage mayor he is, he's terrible," jokes Stephen Amell, saying that too much of Oliver's attention is going into being Green Arrow and Thea is "carrying his water as mayor."

"I really like the idea. Longtime fans of Green Arrow know what a politically-inspired character Oliver Queen is. He had a point of view, he had an ideology, and I think all of those things would be very interesting to explore on the show," says Amell.

John Barrowman teased that Merlyn might behave differently in the alternate timelines of Legends of Tomorrow, saying, "I've time-traveled before, I know what it's all about."

Audience questions!

How do you describe the status of Olicity at the star tof Season Five?

"It's still a partnership. You will find out some more right around episode five and I think we're just going to let the characters take us where they will." - Wendy Mericle

"We have a really dynamic scene in the premiere where we speak to each other as equals, as team members. I've always thought the most important relationship in Arrow is Oliver's relationship to Star City. I think it's pretty clear that Oliver loves Felicity, but I don't know if that means they're going to end up together." - Stephen Amell

Has there ever been a twist that was a runner-up idea on the storyboard but never came to fruition?

"Oh yeah, a whole bunch of them." - Marc Guggenheim

"We kicked around the idea of Malcolm being my dad, right?" - Stephen Amell

If you were to play a Marvel character, who would you play and why?

Echo Kellum: Apocalypse

Paul Blackthorne: I don't know which ones are DC and which ones are Marvel

Emily Bett Rickards: Wolverine

Stephen Amell: Wolverine

John Barrowman: Agent Carter

Willa Holland: Storm

David Ramsey: Moon Knight, or Jean Grey during the Dark Phoenix Saga

What special skills did you have to learn for Arrow?

Holland: Archery. Stephen and I and John have all had to pick up a bow a few times.

Amell: I think weve all had to have our moments of fight training. Walking in heels, which I did yesterday for the first time.

Barrowman: Willa and I have done stuff with the swords. For me, that was very difficult to learn how to do stuff in the League of Assassins uniform.

Which other Arrow character would you want to be?

Amell: Diggle

Rickards: Malcolm

Barrowman: Oliver

Ramsey: Felicity Smoak

Blackthorne: Malcolm

Kellum: Diggle

Who was your favorite superhero growing up, and would you play that character now?

Holland: "I am Batman."

Kellum: Ash from Pokemon

Amell: John McClane. "I don't think that movie should be rebooted unless they reboot it and let me play it."

Rickards: Sailor Moon

Barrowman: Captain America

Ramsey: Bruce Banner. Not The Hulk, but Bruce Banner. "I think Mark Ruffalo was the best Banner I saw."

What aspects of yourselves do you see in your characters?

Kellum: I used to work at Geek Squad at Best Buy.

Blackthorne: "I hope not too much, to be honest." He's got some dark sides. Maybe I've got some dark sides, too.

Rickards: Felicity talks to herself, and I think that's because I do that.

Amell: I am stubborn and I am prideful and I hold grudges.

Ramsey: John Diggle's sense of love for his family and his child, and he wants to make the world a better place for his child.

Holland: I love burgers. That's all I've got, guys.

Will we see Bruce Wayne soon on Arrow?

"No. There's a show called Gotham you're probably going to like a lot. I recommend it to you," Guggenheim says.

"I think you would never say never," adds Amell.

"I would never say never."

"Whenever I say never, I end up doing the thing I said I'd never do immediately," says Amell.

"I will say Bruce will never be on Arrow becuase I want Bruce to be on Arrow."

Then, they sang a song from Hamilton and sang "Happy Birthday" to Rickards, followed by Guggenheim teasing a trailer of Vixen Season Two, which didn't play.