‘They need us more than we need them’: Stephen Amell of ‘Arrow’ breaks his silence on James Gunn’s DCU

The upcoming DCU reboot is in the early stages of conception, so there’s a chance that even James Gunn doesn’t really know how all of the pieces are going to fit together when the time comes. Transition periods are always rough, and there’s a lot of uncertainty to go around as far as different elements of the DC world are concerned. Stephen Amell and the rest of the Arrowverse cast are one such example of this, though, from the looks of it, the star behind the face of Oliver Queen in live-action is losing his patience.

In a recent Whatnot livestream (via ComicBook), Amell criticized the current state of the DCU and said that the Arrowverse is receiving “mixed messages” about the future.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know. Those guys, the DCEU, they need to decide if they think that they’re better than television or if they want to participate,” He said. “Because I get mixed messages, which to me just signals that, I don’t know. You guys do your own thing. We did our thing. I wish everyone nothing but the best. I want nothing more than amazing movies, but right now, they need us a lot more than we need them.”

Those are some very bold words, considering the fact that James Gunn seems to be doing excellent so far.

There’s a grain of truth to Amell’s point of view in this. The DC has had a rough couple of years, and the only place that they’ve been able to maintain a successful streak is in the Arrowverse. Granted, the quality of the Arrowverse experienced a noticeable nosedive at some point, but people still tuning in to watch The Flash, the last television show standing, says a lot about their lingering popularity.

Even The Flash has now concluded, so there’s no telling where folks like Greg Berlanti, Eric Wallace, and their crew will go next. Were James Gunn to cast Stephen Amell as his Green Arrow, the world would rejoice. But we’ve never been able to determine exactly how that creative mastermind works, let alone predict where he might decide to give in to that very showbusiness-y urge of bringing back popular characters.