If you haven’t heard the disappointing news yet, actor Colton Hayes won’t be a series regular on the upcoming eighth season of Arrow. Hayes took to social media recently to clear the air and make it clear that he isn’t dropping out as a series regular. Fans believed that he had been a part of the decision to sit out the final season, but with this revelation that obviously isn’t the case.
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Arrow executive producer Beth Schwartz told Green Arrow TV about the change in Haynes status on the show directly during the recent TCA press tour. She said, “We hope to have him back. We love him and he’s obviously one of the foundations of the show.” The actor took to Twitter to clear the air after being overrun with negative comments.
Getting a lot of angry messages so just to clarify…I didn’t exit the last season of Arrow. I was not asked to come back for the final season as a series regular. But y’all know Roy…he’s never gone for too long 🤗🤗🤗
— Colton Haynes (@ColtonLHaynes) August 8, 2019
Haynes says he was not asked to return as a series regular and that’s where he’s at right now. Curiously, that last part about being a regular leaves the door open for a return and the action playfully gestures towards that notion at the end of the tweet. People still want some closure with Roy and won’t be silenced until they get it.
Troubles have seemed to follow Haynes as he made his full-time return to Arrow in season 7; the actor’s marriage has hit several snags (out in public view), and to make matters worse, he lost his mother in spring of last year. This spring, Haynes has opened up more regarding his struggles with substances. He revealed that he had abused both substances virtually daily over the past decade.
There hasn’t been any mention of any trouble with Haynes on the Arrow set, but it would be understandable if the actor needed to take more time to do whatever he needs to for himself. We sincerely wish him the best.
For now, the void created by Roy Harper’s absence won’t be crippling for Arrow season 8. The final run of The CW‘s flagship Arrowverse series will have its eyes fixed towards setting up the major “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. “Crisis” will radically change the Arrowverse, going forward. As fans will remember, Arrow season 7 effectively laid out the end of the series. That previous flash-forward storyline comes decades after the “Crisis” hits. Long after Oliver Queen’s death, his children had to fight against dark forces in a dystopian future. That situation brought Haynes’ Roy Harper back into the picture. Arsenal had isolated himself on the island of Lian Yu where Oliver first trained and became the Arrow.
Season 7’s conclusion saw Harper unite with Oliver’s son, daughter, and wife (Felicity), along with the remaining members of Team Arrow and the Black Canarys. This motley flock dealt a crushing blow against the A.I. Archer system Felicity created. Felicity passed the crimefighting responsibilities to her kids’ generation, before meeting The Monitor to be reunited with Oliver in a place beyond the mortal world.
Arrow‘s 8th and final season will begin airing this fall on The CW.
