Stephen Amell Confirms John Barrowman’s Return In Arrow Season 8

Arrow season 8 seems to be less of a typical final run and more of a victory lap that’ll celebrate how far The CW has come over the years. We know that its 10 episodes will hark back to previous seasons of the show, something that means many former regulars and guest stars will return one last time before the Emerald Archer fires his last arrow. Some notable reappearances, for instance, include Colin Donnell, Josh Segarra, Rila Fukushima and Susanna Thompson.

And here’s one more major figure from Arrow‘s past who’s been confirmed to show up: John Barrowman AKA the Green Arrow’s original nemesis, Malcolm Merlyn/the Dark Archer. Stephen Amell was the one to let this slip during a convention appearance at Fan Expo Boston. And he leaked the info in a pretty unexpected way, too.

First, some background: Amell once said he’d deliver Barrowman’s cake for his 50th birthday in a tiny bathing suit. True to his word, the actor did just that at his co-star’s birthday shindig last year. One fan asked the actor at the recent convention whether he’ll be doing the same for Barrowman’s 60th. Amell jokingly responded, and dropped the bombshell that Merlyn will be in season 8 in the process.

 “It’s part of the deal, every ten years I put on a tiny suit and I deliver John Barrowman a birthday cake,” Amell said. “He’s back in the show in Season 8, and that was actually a rider that he put into his contract, so…”

Though this is the first time we’ve heard it, it’s no surprise that Barrowman will be back for season 8. Merlyn’s been with the show ever since the beginning, He may have been killed off in the season 5 finale, but he turned up in season 6 via a flashback and in season 7 thanks to the alternate reality of “Elseworlds.” Now, we know he’ll complete the set and become one of only a handful of characters to appear in every season of Arrow.