Stephen Amell On How He Would Feel If Green Arrow Is Recast For Movie Universe

Arrow star Stephen Amell has weighed in on one of the most controversial matters in Hollywood, the fine art of recasting. In this specific case, it’s the matter of recasting a DC Comics superhero appearing on television to appear in a DC Extended Universe movie.

Amell went on the record when such an act occurred with The Flash. When Warner Bros. announced that Ezra Miller would play Barry Allen in the Justice League and The Flash movies and not Grant Gustin, who plays Barry Allen on The Flash television series, Amell said he felt like “it should be Grant doing the movie.” At a panel with co-star David Ramsey at Salt Lake Comic Con, Amell clarified his position on the casting of the Flash for the DC Extended Universe.

“I wasn’t mad that they didn’t cast Grant in the movie,” Amell explained. “What I called into question was the timing of the announcement. Which, I think I used the word ‘sucked,” And it did. After that interview came out, I felt the need to actually get in touch with a couple of people to clarify my position, to make sure that they knew that it’s not that I thought Grant had ownership of the role. Again, I just thought that the timing was less than appropriate. And I do.”

That explanation led into the question of his own role as Green Arrow in Arrow and whether he would be bothered if Warner Bros. recast the role for the DC Extended Universe. Amell appeared nonplussed.

“I do not have a right to Oliver Queen,” Amell said. “Someone played it played it before me. Someone voiced it before me. Somebody will play it after me. I don’t believe that there are plans for Oliver Queen in the DC Extended Universe, based off things that people have told me, but I would not be upset if that changed at all.”

As Oliver Queen, Amell has appeared across all of The CW’s DC Comics shared universe shows, sometimes referred to as the Arrowverse, including The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. While he’s gracious enough to recognize that the character of Green Arrow is bigger than any one actor, he has become the definitive version of the character for many fans.

That being said, Warner Bros. has made it pretty clear that they have no intention of sharing actors with the various DC Comics television properties that are running concurrently with the DC Extended Universe films. There has been some loose talk of a DC Comics multiverse that encompasses all of the television series and possibly the DC Extended Universe, though that has never been acknowledged textually. Either way, this shouldn’t be much of a concern for Amell as Warner Bros. has not stated any plans for Green Arrow in the DC Extended Universe, and Amell himself says that he hasn’t heard any differently.

Arrow Season 5 premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.