‘Arrow’ Star Stephen Amell Reveals One Plotline He Helped Influence

It sounds like Arrow fans have series star Stephen Amell to thank for one particular storyline.

During his panel at this summer’s Heroes and Villains Fan Fest London (via DCComicsNews), Amell was asked exactly what his creative influence on the world of Arrow is. As the actor revealed, he does make suggestions for some of the smaller details within the show — including what was essentially the introduction of Oliver Queen’s son, William (Jack Moore).

“I have a reasonable influence on the show.” Amell explained. “I get into the micro-elements of the show, but the macro-elements have always been the producers. The only big idea that I’ve ever had was when we did the first crossover with The Flash. I suggested that Oliver’s baby momma and his kid showed up at CC Jitters.”

As fans will remember, a flashback in Arrow‘s second season revealed that Oliver had gotten Samantha Clayton (Anna Hopkins) pregnant, which ultimately led to Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) paying her millions of dollars to move to Central City and never speak to Oliver again. This storyline seemed to be complete until the “Flash vs. Arrow” crossover episode, where Oliver bumped into Samantha and he learned that she had a son named William.

A year later, in the “Legends” crossover episodes, Oliver learned that William was his child, a fact that he kept secret until William was then kidnapped by Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough). After that event, William and Samantha were moved to an undisclosed location, until they were ultimately kidnapped a year later by Adrian Chase/Prometheus (Josh Segarra). Samantha and William were then involved in the skirmish on Lian Yu, which ultimately led to Samantha’s death and William now being raised by Oliver and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards).

It’s safe to say that William has grown to have a major impact on Arrow, which makes it all the more interesting that Amell was behind his and Samantha’s initial return. To an extent, having Oliver now have to deal with a son has seemed to challenge Amell, in a way that the actor has seemed to appreciate.

“The thrust of our show for the first five years is me being the Green Arrow, and growing into what that means and trying to learn from my experiences.” Amell told reporters during a set visit last year. “And, here we are. I have given it up with a very clear conscious, for at least for the foreseeable future on the show. Some of my stuff with Jack this year has been some of my favorite stuff to play. [He’s a] really, really good actor.”

“They’ve been really great about letting me get in there and play around with Jack and figure out how we make those scenes as relatable and human as possible.” Amell continued. “I do think that Oliver’s relationship with William, it has changed things forever. I don’t know where it ends up, but it’s not like we are going to erase him having a son. It’s now part of what we are doing.”

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