Michael Rowe: Leaving Arrow Was Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me — But I Would Come Back

It’s likely Michael Rowe wouldn’t have been able to play Colin King in Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe, if his character hadn’t been shuffled off of the hit CW superhero drama Arrow — and while Rowe loves the character of Deadshot and would come back to the Berlantiverse if asked, ultimately he told ComicBook.com that he believes that being let go from Arrow was for the best.

During a visit to the set of Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe, ComicBook.com spoke with Rowe about his time as Deadshot, which ended unexpectedly — but without both the role and being shown the door, he probably would never have made his way to the Valiant Universe.

“It’s almost like they wanted to bring the Suicide Squad out and they used Arrow as a laboratory to test the Suicide Squad,” Rowe mused. “And it worked real well, but then it got taken away from us to be graduated to A-list actors and ‘Let’s put all our money into it.’ That’s just how the industry works, I guess. In hindsight it was the best thing that ever happened to me; it helped me get my ass in gear: I produced my own film, I wrote my own film, I started on this project, I did a bunch of other cool things that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do if I was locked into that show. It was kind of a gift to be honest with you — but I love playing the character, and if they ever called me, I would enjoy revisiting that.”

The notion that the Suicide Squad film more likely than not is what put Deadshot, Amanda Waller, and other popular Arrow recurring characters on ice isn’t new information — although Rowe is one of only a few people directly associated with the show who has talked about it publicly. In the time since Suicide Squad was a thing and Will Smith was Deadshot, though, the character (and Rowe) have appeared briefly in episodes of both Arrow and The Flash.

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the North China Sea. He returned home to Star City, bent on righting the wrongs done by his family and fighting injustice. As the Green Arrow, he protects his city with the help of former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), computer-science expert Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), his vigilante-trained sister Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Deputy Mayor Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), brilliant inventor Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), and his new recruits, street-savvy Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez) and meta-human Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy).

Oliver has finally solidified and strengthened his crime-fighting team only to have it threatened when unexpected enemies from his past return to Star City, forcing Oliver to rethink his relationship with each member of his “family”.

Based on the characters from DC, ARROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Supergirl”), Marc Guggenheim (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Eli Stone”), Wendy Mericle (“Desperate Housewives,” “Eli Stone”), Andrew Kreisberg (“The Flash,” “Eli Stone,” “Warehouse 13”) and Sarah Schechter (“The Flash,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”).