Arrow is preparing to hang up its bow.
The CW’s flagship superhero drama announced on Wednesday that the upcoming eighth season would be the show’s last, wrapping up the tale of playboy-turned-vigilante-turned-hero Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), also known as the Green Arrow.
“This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we’ve made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind,” series executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Beth Schwartz said in a statement to Variety. “We’re heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come. We’re excited about crafting a conclusion that honors the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and — more importantly — the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years.”
“Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life… but you can’t be a vigilante forever,” Amell shared on Twitter following the announcement. “Arrow will return for a final run of 10 episodes this Fall. There’s so much to say… for now I just want to say thank you.”
The DC Comics-inspired series — which also stars David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Katie Cassidy, Rick Gonzalez, Juliana Harkavy, Colton Haynes, Kirk Acevedo and Sea Shimooka — debuted in October 2012, and launched several spinoff series within The CW’s “Arrow ‘verse,” including The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and the upcoming Batwoman standalone series starring Ruby Rose.
The current season of Arrow has featured the introduction of Oliver and Felicity’s (Rickards) daughter in a future timeline, played by Shadowhunters star Kat McNamara, who recently dished to ET’s Leanne Aguilera about joining the popular show in its seventh year.
“Just even being a part of the future and being a part of this universe is really wonderful,” she raved. “I mean, there are so many interesting facets to the Arrow ‘verse with the future with Nora that we have now on The Flash, and with Legends everywhere and now with having Ruby Rose as Batwoman and all of these incredible characters. There’s just so much diversity and inclusivity and all of these things that are happening in the Arrow ‘verse. I’m so thankful to be coming from Shadowhunters which had a very similar environment, vibe and mindset. It’s really wonderful to still be part of that and I understand the responsibility and I’m excited for the challenge ahead.”
Arrow airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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