Arrow star Stephen Amell has followed up his announcement that the series will end after an abbreviated, ten-episode eighth season with an emotional video in which he spoke to his fans and thanked those who had carried the show for the last seven-plus years.
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In the video, which you can see above, Amell said that he decided at the end of season six that he was ready to move on from the character of Oliver Queen at the end of his current commitment. He added that executive producer Greg Berlanti worked with him to figure out the best way to make that happen.
“Even though I have known that this was coming, it’s still a very emotional time, because I have been on the show in what can only be described as a fundamentally-transofmational, nearly decade-long run in my life,” Amell said.
He noted that when he started out, he was a young and inexperienced actor who was “kind of dating someone,” and that now, a big part of this decision came down to the fact that a lot of his personal and professional interests — most obviously his family — are not on the Arrow set in Vancouver.
“To say that I has been a real sea change over the last seven-plus years would be a vast understatement,” Amell said.
The idea of continuing the show without Oliver Queen was apparently considered, but according to Amell, producers Berlanti, Beth Schwartz, Marc Guggenheim, Warner Bros. Television, and The CW collectively decided to go out on a high note with Amell rather than trying a soft reboot without the series lead.
If Oliver leaves Star City or steps down as Green Arrow, that will leave fans wondering about the status of several of the show’s most popular characters. Whether they will walk away as well or be moved to other Arrowverse shows is not yet clear.
In all likelihood, the 10-episode season will end the series in conjunction with “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” next season’s Arrowverse crossover. The crossovers typically take place at the end of the calendar year, either right before or right after the midseason finales.
“Invasion!,” the season five Arrowverse crossover, took place during Arrow‘s eighth episode; as did season six’s “Crisis on Earth-X.” This year’s “Elseworlds” crossover moved back a week, serving as the midseason finale for each of the Arrowverse shows and Arrow‘s ninth episode.
After thanking producers, cast members, and others who literally made Arrow happen day to day, Amell turned his gratitude toward the fans.
“Last but not least, to the people that are watching this right now — to the people who have populated my social media channels over the last seven years. I have made countless friends, I have been able to tell so many stories, I have been able to facilitate great moments for people because they’re a fan of the Green Arrow,” Amell said. “I’ll miss that a great deal, but something tells me, even when I’m done, I won’t be gone. If you’ve watched the Arrowverse, you should understand that.”
Arrow airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT, before episodes of Black Lightning on The CW.
