Arrow Star Katie Cassidy Rodgers Bids Farewell to Show

Katie Cassidy Rodgers is one of the very few remaining Arrow cast members who has been around [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Katie Cassidy Rodgers is one of the very few remaining Arrow cast members who has been around since the beginning, so when she said an emotional goodbye to the series, it isn't any surprise that she chose to do so while posing with Willa Holland, the actress who played Thea Queen. Thea was one of the only women on the series with anywhere near as many appearances onscreen as Rodgers (who played the Black Canary and later the Black Siren) and Emily Bett Rickards (who played Oliver Queen's love interest, Felicity Smoak). And while both Rickards and Holland left ahead of the final season, both performers returned for the series finale -- an episode which will air in January, following both the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event and the backdoor pilot for Green Arrow and the Canaries, in which Rodgers will star alongside Katherine McNamara (who plays Mia Smoak, the daughter of Felicity and Oliver) and Juliana Harkavy (Rodgers's successor as the Black Canary).

In that series, which will be set in 2040 and take place during the timeline where Arrow's flash-forwards have been taking place so far, Harkavy and Rodgers will play older versions of their Arrow characters, who work together to head up the vigilante group known as the Canaries. Andrea Sixtos played the role of Zoe Ramirez, another member of the Canaries, until the character was killed in a recent episode. However, events following that episode have raised the possibility that by the time the backdoor pilot happens, Zoe might be significantly less dead.

You can see Rodgers's post below.

View this post on Instagram

Our last day of filming #Arrow & here we are @willaholland the #OG ‘s .... I adore you little lady! ❤️

A post shared by Katie Cassidy Rodgers (@katiecassidy) on

The actress will play the role of Earth-1's Laurel Lance, the original Black Canary, in "Crisis on Infinite Earths," according to the event's showrunner, Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim. Earth-1 Laurel died back in Arrow's fourth season, and since then, Rodgers has played an Earth-2 version of herself. "Black Siren," who came to Earth-1 along with a number of other villains during Zoom's attack on Central City in The Flash's second season, had one of the Arrowverse's most engaging redemption arcs, finally becoming a key member of Team Arrow in season 7. This season, she has been driven by grief -- because in the season 8 premiere of Arrow, she watched her world being erased from existence and only survived because Oliver and Diggle brought her with them back to Earth-1.

Guggenheim did not make clear how the Earth-1 Laurel would play into "Crisis on Infinite Earths," although given that the Legends of Tomorrow are appearing in the crossover and Jonah Hex has been confirmed to have a role, it stands to reason that time travel, rather than reviving her from the grave, is likely the answer. Guggenheim also clarified that while Earth-1's Laurel Lance will appear in the crossover, the role of Laurel in the Green Arrow and the Birds of Prey spinoff will still be fulfilled by Black Siren.

Arrow airs on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following episodes of The Flash on The CW.

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