Arrow: Stephen Amell Teases Deathstroke, Return to the Island for Final Season

Arrow‘s eighth and final season is expected to take a major trip down memory lane, as the show will pay homage to significant moments in its history. If a new social media from series star Stephen Amell is any indication, that will involve one of the long-running The CW series’ first jaw-dropping moments. On Wednesday, Amell took to Instagram to share a photo of him holding the stake of wood that holds the first Deathstroke mask on Lian Yu. While there’s no telling exactly when the photo was taken or what the context of it is, some have begun to speculate that it could signal a return to Lian Yu at some point in Season 8.

Of course, there’s the question of whether or not Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) could join the long list of characters that are poised to return in Season 8. Throughout his Arrow tenure, Slade went from an ally of Amell’s Oliver Queen on Lian Yu, but grew to be one of the vigilante’s worst enemies years later. Once he was defeated by Oliver, Slade was kept in a secret ARGUS prison for years, which led him to be free of the Mirakuru drug and more sympathetic to his one-time foe. This led to a small arc involving Oliver and Slade in Season 6, where the pair worked together to find Slade’s son.

Considering Slade’s impact on Arrow‘s overall storyline, it certainly would be significant for him to return to the final season, something that Bennett seems to be on board for.

“I think [Arrow is] a piece of modern mythology.” Bennett said during a panel appearance last year. “[It’s] a very well-written show. It’s got its demographic and it’s got its audience. It’s hitting targets, you know? I think that Stephen and I have evolved — he and I, personally — with our performance as Oliver and Slade, in a way that just is, you know. The writers have done a really great job with this journey that he and I have been on. I think that every time it’s come up, it’s kind of like an origin story. It swells emotions in people again, which is my whole modus operandi. So I’m glad for all of that.”

“I’d love to come back on it at some stage,” Bennett teased. “I don’t know.”

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