Stephen Amell Wanted Arrow to End in Season 7

When Arrow returns this fall it will be for the last time. The CW series is ending its run after eight seasons, news that was stunning to fans when it was announced earlier this year. But while fans have come to accept the end of the series that kicked off the Arrowverse — especially with the final season’s significant role in the lead up to the highly anticipated “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover late this fall, they might be surprised to learn that series star Stephen Amell had wanted to the series to end a bit earlier — with Season 7.

In a recent Facebook Live, Amell sat down to chat with fans and answer their questions while taking a short break from filming on Arrow‘s final season and explained that he thought the show should end with Season 7, at least until he found out the plans for Season 8.

“I think that we’ve had our running time,” Amell said. “That’s what I thought when I talked with Greg Berlanti in Season 6. I felt like we had done our thing. I thought ultimately theoretically Season 7 should’ve ended things. But to come back and do 10 episodes … what they’ve done with this final season is really cool. It’s like nothing you guys have ever seen. Every episode that comes out, it’s like ‘Wait a minute, what? It’s happening what and where and how? Ok, that’s cool. Let’s do it!’”

Even though Arrow did go beyond Season 7 and get a Season 8, the idea that the end was in sight is something that Amell wasn’t alone in thinking. Executive producer Marc Guggenheim told ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend that the decision to end Arrow with Season 8 is one that came together “organically.”

“Once you start staring down the barrel of a Season 8 these conversations just quite frankly start to happen organically, and you know Stephen [Amell] was at the end of his deal and it’s like ‘what are we going to do? How long are we going to do this for?’ And for my money, I felt it was time, you know, and I think Greg [Berlanti] felt that way, I think Stephen felt that way,” Guggenheim said. “I think we all sort of collectively came to the same conclusion which is let’s go out on a high note. People are still talking about the show, which is hard in its eighth season of any show. People are still talking about it and then it becomes production budgetary things that really gets you into the tall grass but for me I felt like let’s end the show when we can still produce the show that we have all come to know and love and not try to change the show to make it work when it otherwise can’t.”

Arrow returns for its eighth and final season on Tuesday, October 15th at 9/8c on The CW. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” comes to the Arrowverse this December.

Are you surprised Amell wanted Arrow to end with Season 7? Let us know in the comments below.