‘Arrow’: Stephen Amell Teases How Long Oliver Will Be in Jail

The end of Arrow‘s sixth season saw Oliver Queen carted off to prison for his actions as Green Arrow and while fans have hoped to see the hero out of prison quickly in season seven that might not be the case according to series star Stephen Amell.

Speaking with ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, Amell hinted that Oliver’s time behind bars might last longer than fans are expecting it to.

“I don’t know if that’s going to influence it, but Oliver is definitely in jail and I think that he’s going to be in jail I think longer than people expect,” Amell said.

The “influence” that Amell isn’t certain about is “Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max”, the script for a Green Arrow live-action film that never made it to production. That film would have followed the general idea that Green Arrow ends up incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, with Oliver then locked up behind bars with the very villains he took down in a high security supermax facility. While the defunct film may not be a direct source, as we’ve seen both in the official synopsis for the upcoming season and casting news there will be some distinct similarities.

The synopsis indicates that Oliver “will come face-to-face with many of the criminals he placed behind bars as he makes a new home for himself at Slabside Maximum Security Prison” and The CW has already announced that Derek Sampson (Cody Runnels) and Danny Brickwell/Brick (Vinnie Jones) are both returning in the seventh season. Considering that the last time those villains were seen on Arrow, they had been apprehended — thanks to Oliver’s vigilante work — and sent to prison. That situation sounds very similar to Super Max, but no doubt Arrow will but their own twist on things. As we’ve seen in the trailer released at SDCC, Oliver has a lot to deal with in prison so there is a wealth of story the show can dig into.

And it sounds like the show is going to be exploring a lot of stories in the seventh season. Amell has previously hinted that the writers were approaching things as though season seven will be the last.

“I think that’s one of the things I’m getting out of what they’ve planned for season seven — we’re not writing like we’re guaranteed something beyond this, because we’re not; nobody is,” Amell said in a recent interview. “I want them to really push forward and take the fact that we have a certain license and a certain respect from the fans to take some chances.”

Arrow will return with new episodes on Monday, October 15th, at 8/7c on The CW.