Arrow season 8: How boss hopes for plenty of returning characters

Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson, Thea Queen, and of course, Felicity Smoak. These aren’t just some of our favorite Arrow characters, but they are some of the ones we’d love to see back for the final season of the show. We understand that there are only eight episodes and that may make the choosing a little bit harder. Yet, we do think that with the right creativity and a willingness from the performers involved, you can find a way to make it happen.

In speaking via TVLine, executive producer Beth Schwartz did make it clear that she wants some characters back — she didn’t specify names, but we think that there have to be some high on the list:

“There are so many characters [to consider]. So many characters … And we’re definitely thinking about all of that, because just as much as our fans want to see it, as people who have been on the show for a long time, we are also fans of these characters. So we’re going to make sure that everyone has a great final season.

“That’s the exciting part of next season, only having 10 episodes,” she said. “We’ve [been] brainstorming and thinking about who we want back, because there are so many characters that we love … I think every episode is just going to be humongous. We’re going to fit it all in, and it’s definitely going to be an amazing season.”

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Some returns are harder than others. With Malcolm, for example, the character is (presumed) dead. Do you revive him, bring in an alternate-universe Dark Archer, or just have him pop up in a similar way to Colin Donnell last season? With Slade, will DC let you use Deathstroke one last time? It feels like the character’s been on the no-go list for a little while, even though we know he’s coming over to Titans for its upcoming season.

If we had to wager, the top priorities will be Felicity and Thea. They are the two longest-tenured former cast members and their ties to Oliver make a request inevitable. Whether or not they come back is a totally different story. If they’re not at least asked, that’d be a bigger disappointment than almost anything within the show itself.

Arrow season 8 will premiere on The CW this October; to see the premiere date for it and some other shows, check out the article here.

Who do you want to see coming back for Arrow season 8? Be sure to share in the comments and come back soon for more. (Photo: The CW.)