SDCC17 Arrow: Live Blog

The Arrow panel began with a sizzle reel, showing scenes from Arrow’s fight with Prometheus. It showed the battles and moments leading up to the explosion on the island. New footage showed Oliver and William together, his son distraught from the ordeal. Slade Wilson appears. The Black Canaries have another showdown. Oliver and Slade shake hands.

ComicBook.com’s own Jim Viscardi introduced EPs Wendy Mericle and Marc Guggenheim and cast members Emily Bett Rickards, Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Rick Gonzalez, Juliana Harkavy, and Echo Kellum.

Guggenheim said we’re going to see a different Oliver Queen, but that they will bring back some of the fan’s favorite aspects.

How does having a son change Oliver? Amell said Oliver is not the best dad. Amell said he was nervous about acting with the actor who plays William. “He’s a wonderful young man and a terrific actor.” He’s excited to be doing new things.

Cassidy is back on the show, the cast said her character comes in like a wrecking ball. “It feels like I never left. It’s been home, and… we’re family.” She said the dynamic between Black Siren and other characters on Team Arrow is opposite to Laurel’s.

The Panel

They spoke about Harkavy’s new Black Canary costume, and other cast members called it “bad ass.”

Regarding the changing family dynamic, Amell says they’re hitting the ground running with Season 6. He said his jaw rarely drops while reading the scripts, but the first three scripts of Season 6 has impressed him.

Arrow Season 6 will have a group of different villains banding together, including David Nykl as Anatoli Knyazev and new cast member Michael Emmerson from Lost and Person Of Interest playing Richard Dragon.

Asking if there is a musical episode in the future, everyone said no but used the opportunity to sing “Happy Birthday” to Bett Rickards whose birthday is on Monday. They even brought out a cake for her.

Fan Q&A

The first fan was dressed as Arrow, asking if Vigilante is someone we know… like Earth-2’s Tommy Merlyn? They want to get him back on the show, but Colin Donnell is busy with Chicago Med. But Guggenheim did add, “you can probably expect whoever’s behind that mask is a face that’s familiar to you.”

Asked about the character’s defining moments, Gonzalez said Rene working at City Hall and getting his life together. Harkavy said the moment of trauma that gave her character her powers. Cassidy didn’t want to give anything away about Black Siren’s future character arc.

Amell said he didn’t like being water boarded, but he it made him grow. Ramsey said he enjoys when they change up the student/teacher aspect between Oliver and Diggle, when Oliver becomes his character’s mentor. Kellum said Curtis Holt endured a lot of dramatic situations that pushed him forward.

Asked about the flashbacks, Guggenheim said they will still be on the show but they will not be serialized; they’ll be character specific. He hinted at an upcoming flashback featuring Deathstroke.

Someone asked Kellum how Terrific gets his braids done so fast when he suits up, everyone in the room laughed when Guggenheim said its his superpower while Kellum said Kid Flash helps him out.

Asked about a potential crossover with Supernatural, Amell said “it’s not going to work unless I can be a waiter for Jensen and Jared. ‘Hey guys, here’s your steak.’” He’d be a bit player on the show, and he’d do it in a heartbeat. 

A child cancer survivor asked if Amell is going to make more “Fight Cancer.” Amell said he would do another campaign soon and gave the fan his own Arrow necklace.

For the next question, Willand said the crossover had a lot of hard scenes and difficult shooting situations. Harkavy and Cassidy said their fighting sequence was an epic battle and one of their favorite scenes. 

And with that, the panel ended.

Arrow

Arrow will return for its sixth season on a new night and time – Thursday, October 12th, at 9/8c, on The CW.

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the North China Sea. He returned home to Star City, bent on righting the wrongs done by his family and fighting injustice. As the Green Arrow, he protects his city with the help of former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), computer-science expert Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), his vigilante-trained sister Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Deputy Mayor Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), brilliant inventor Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), and his new recruits, street-savvy Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez) and meta-human Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy).

Oliver has finally solidified and strengthened his crime-fighting team only to have it threatened when unexpected enemies from his past return to Star City, forcing Oliver to rethink his relationship with each member of his “family”.

Based on the characters from DC, ARROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Supergirl”), Marc Guggenheim (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Eli Stone”), Wendy Mericle (“Desperate Housewives,” “Eli Stone”), Andrew Kreisberg (“The Flash,” “Eli Stone,” “Warehouse 13”) and Sarah Schechter (“The Flash,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”).