Stephen Amell on How ‘Arrow’ Was Initially Inspired by ‘The Dark Knight’

Arrow has certainly proved to be its own take on the Green Arrow mythos, and it sounds like that originated from a very specific place.

During a panel earlier this summer at Heroes and Villains Fan Fest London (via DC Comics News), Arrow star Stephen Amell spoke about the many influences the long-running The CW series has had. As Amell explained, the show’s early days drew a lot of material from one of the most popular superhero movies of that time — The Dark Knight.

“When the show started the inspiration for the first season was absolutely, positively The Dark Knight.” Amell revealed. “When I was sitting in [Arrow pilot director] David Nutter’s office, it was just photos of The Dark Knight. That was the inspiration for the first season.”

For those who have been keeping up with Arrow along its six year tenure, this sort of homage to The Dark Knight probably isn’t too much of a surprise. The tone of the early seasons could definitely be classified as gritty and Nolan-esque, so much so that the series has been jokingly referred to as “Green Batman”. Over time, Arrow has gotten a bit more in touch with its comic roots (and even acknowledged the Batman of it all), something that Amell hints will continue into Season 7.

“I think that we’re going to lean more into the comic, and canon, version of the Green Arrow this year.” Amell explained. “The show is the show, and I am me. I feel like I’m in the greatest show right now.”

Judging by what we already know about Arrow‘s seventh season, it sounds like that sort of reinvention could very well be a positive thing. With Oliver Queen now unmasked as the Green Arrow and sitting inside a SuperMax prison, the show will be adopting a new sort of mindset.

“I think that’s one of the things I’m getting out of what they’ve planned for season seven – we’re not writing like we’re guaranteed something beyond this, because we’re not; nobody is.” Amell said in a previous interview. “I want them to really push forward and take the fact we have a certain license and a certain respect from the fans to take some chances.”

The season seven premiere of Arrow, which is titled “Inmate 4587”, will debut on Monday, October 15th, at 8/7c on The CW.