Arrow season 6: Manu Bennett returning as Slade
After making his first appearance in two-plus years during the season 5 finale “Liam Yu,” it was announced today via Stephen Amell at Heroes & Villains Fan Fest in Nashville that Manu will be appearing in multiple episodes as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke in the new season. It’s pretty easy to figure out why he’d be back now: He has a different relationship now to Oliver Queen, and he could be used more as a tentative ally than a full-on adversary … provided of course that Slade steered clear of any mirakuru in the process. He’s not someone that Oliver ever should let in to his inner circle too deeply, given that Slade’s the sort of guy who did hold a candle for vengeance for a very long time.
This news come after there were many people, us included, who fantasized over what a Slade spin-off series could feasibly look like, and we’re absolutely excited about that possibility. Remember for a moment here that Deathstroke is an iconic part of the DC Comics universe, and he’s got history with everyone from Batman to the Suicide Squad. It’s too bad that Arrow really can’t use many of those characters these days, since we’d love to see Manu’s version of Slade alongside the show’s interpretation of a Harley Quinn or the dearly-departed Floyd Lawton. Slade’s an awesome character, and Manu is so perfect for the part that it’s hard to imagine anyone else taking it on.
New episodes for Arrow technically started filming at the end of this past week leading up to the show’s big premiere this October. There isn’t necessarily all that much in the way of news to report at the moment beyond what we’ve said here, and also that there is a season 1 character returning who you haven’t seen in a rather-long time. We wish that it was going to be the Huntress, but the reality is that we’ve seen her since then (even if it has been a while).
In general, there’s a lot to look forward to when the show comes back; be prepared for the premiere to specifically answer a number of different questions, with the primary one being how the hell these characters survived the explosion at the end of the season 5 finale.
Excited to see more Manu Bennett as Deathstroke on Arrow season 6? Be sure to sound off now in the comments!
For more news on Arrow, including some about Oliver as a mentor, be sure to head over to the link here. (Photo: The CW.)