Should Manu Bennett get Slade Wilson spin-off alongside Arrow season 6?

There were many wonderful treats for fans when it comes to Arrow season 5, but the return of Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson was at the top of the list for us. He’s one of the show’s strongest characters — a physical threat, a tortured soul, and a man capable of changing allegiances when necessary. He’s a survivor. He started the series as an ally to Oliver Queen before becoming an adversary, and then eventually becoming a double agent / ally once more in “Liam Yu.” He is still Deathstroke, but he’s not so intent (at least for now) on bringing about the death of Oliver Queen.

At the time of the finale airing, one of the interesting ideas that was floated around out there was from the SuperBroMovies Twitter account suggesting that Bennett get his own spin-off show about Slade. The more that we’ve thought about that, the more it feels like this could be a worthy (not to mention kickass) idea.

What would it be about? – This feels fairly easy — the adventures of a rogue antihero who, after years of imprisonment (basically, he had the island, an escape, and then some more time in prison thanks to Oliver), decides to take on the Deathstroke mask to become a vigilante like no other. Maybe the show takes some pages from the Suicide Squad comics, or he becomes this anti-hero like the Punisher. In a perfect world, Deathstroke would get to work with that Harley Quinn featured a few seasons ago (albeit briefly).

Also, if Oliver gets some flashbacks, why not Slade? There is a lot of curiosity to see what his world looked like in between his own departure from the island and then when he resurfaced in what was then Starling City during season 2 of the show.

How to have it happen – Doing a short series between the winter hiatus feels like a perfect time for it — have it run for six or so episodes, which is just enough time to give fans a better sense of who Slade is before giving him a proper arc back on Arrow season 6 either as an occasional asset or someone who bubbles back into a villain again. We already know that Bennett can play either side beautifully; just cultivate the right material so that the transformation feels earned, no matter what the writers decide to do with the character.

If Bennett doesn’t have the time to do this (he is, after all, a part of The Shannara Chronicles), why not consider an animated CW Seed series for now with him voicing the character? This is happening for Constantine, so why not do something similar here?

What are the odds of it actually happening? – Sure, this is all a pipe dream, but after seeing the super-positive reaction to Deathstroke’s return, it feels like far more of a possibility than spinning off any other Arrow character at present. In general, creating short, almost anthology-like arcs for popular characters is something that The CW should really consider doing more often given that they have so much unused real estate, and many different ways to monetize their products. Who wouldn’t want to spend the holidays with Slade Wilson? He’ll be able to tell you if you’ve been a good “kid” or not…

Interested in seeing a Manu Bennett – Slade Wilson Arrow spin-off? Vote in the poll below! (Photo: The CW)