Stephen Amell has officially wrapped filming Arrow, bringing an end to the Arrowverse’s involvement with the actor with whom it all began.
The man who will now always be linked to the definitive portrayal of Oliver Queen took to social media with a brief but heartfelt declaration to reveal that he had wrapped on the show, saying:
Words can’t even begin to express what Arrow has meant to me. Best 8 years of my life. The cast and crew of the show have become my family. I’m going to miss them. I’m wrapped.
Prior to 2012, Amell was just another jobbing Canadian actor, appearing in guest roles and recurring characters in minor TV shows, with the closest he came to potential stardom being getting down to the final three in auditions to replace Andy Whitfied as Spartacus’ eponymous slave rebel.
Similarly, when Arrow began in 2012, few people expected very much of it, as the big money of superhero stories were on the big screen, as was evidenced by The Avengers raking in all the money in the world. Creating a TV show based around a character many wrote off as a less interesting version of Hawkeye seemed like a questionable idea.
Detractors were soon proved wrong, though, with Arrow’s success and crescendoing popularity leading to The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning and Batwoman, as well as web series Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray. Regular crossovers and character-swapping between the shows became the norm, and it seems only fitting that “Crisis On Infinite Earths,” possibly the most famous crossover event in comics history, will provide the swansong of both Oliver Queen and Arrow itself.
Amell himself played an important role in the show’s success, too, with his affability and openness with fans providing an invaluable bridge between the show’s production and those watching it. Although the Arrowverse will not be the same without Amell and Arrow, its legacy will continue in the succession of other shows that arose in its wake, as well as Green Arrow and the Canaries, the 2040-set spinoff featuring Oliver’s adult daughter Mia Smoak and the two current Black Canaries: Laurel Lance and Dinah Drake.
It’s pretty safe to say that the state of modern comic book TV would not be where it is without Arrow and likewise, Arrow would not have become what it was without Amell.
