ARROW Season 8 – Cast Update And First Episode Title Reveal

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We have a giant cast update for Arrow: The Final Season! First up, we have Katherine McNamara (Mia Smoak), who TVLine reports has been upgraded from guest star to season regular for Arrow‘s final season. We also have the legendary John Barrowman returning in some capacity! Then, we have Entertainment Weekly who got to talk with showrunner Beth Schwartz and learned Colin Donnell and Josh Segarra will be guest starring in season 8 of Arrow. We also, got the season 8 premiere episode title from Schwartz herself, ‘Starling City’.

First day of shooting! #ArrowSeason8 #TheFinalSeason pic.twitter.com/E7Nl4mvx3b
— Beth Schwartz (@SchwartzApprovd) July 11, 2019

So we return to Starling City! The original name of the city housing team Arrow, changed to Star City to honor Ray Palmer in season 4. So this could mean we’re returning to the past, or Star City returns to its original name? We only saw flash forwards in Arrow season 7, so we could see a mix of flashbacks and flash forwards honoring previous seasons of the show. But, we also know from season 7’s finale episode the Monitor can time travel, so we could see Oliver Queen unite with his younger self.

View this post on Instagram Father and son. #merlyn #family #arrow #cw @cw_arrow @colindonnell jb A post shared by John Barrowman MBE (@johnscotbarrowman) on Jul 15, 2019 at 9:56am PDT

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Time travel/flashbacks might be how we see Segarra, Barrowman and Donnell return to the show, though it is clarified by Schwartz and Marc Guggenheim, executive producer, it won’t be how we expect. “Adrian Chase comes back in a different way than expected. We’re really excited about that because obviously he’s one of our favorite villains.” Schwartz said. Guggenheim said “Donnell is not coming back as the Tommy we know.” Barrowman’s return indicates we will see some past in the mix of the show (as Malcolm Merlyn is currently dead), so these actors could be playing multiple roles. His posing with Donnell could also just be a tease and we might not see them on screen together.

Segarra and Donnell have returned to the series after their one season arcs, and both have been used to confront Oliver with the facts, making him a better hero. Their return makes sense, especially with the logline of the show being the following:

“Oliver will find himself pit against his most challenging battle yet, one that will leave the multiverse hanging in the balance, In Arrow’s final season, Oliver Queen is forced to confront the reality of what it means to be a hero.”

Segarra played one of the most memorable villains in Arrow‘s run. It only makes sense he’d return because his character has moved Oliver into the limelight. Donnell’s Tommy has also pushed Oliver to leave his troubled past behind. Even if they aren’t returning as Earth 1 Tommy Merlyn and Adrian Chase, they’ll still be pivotable in helping Oliver confront the meaning of being a hero.

Arrow season 8 will also feature McNamara in a more prominent role. After Joseph-David Jones was bumped up to a series regular role this is really no surprise. We could see father and daughter unite to fight the crisis together if there’s time travel involved. It also just seems right for them to at least meet once. Oliver deserves that much after only getting to experience a couple months of Mia’s childhood. Who knows, maybe we even get to see her in the costume Guggenheim was teasing? She’ll be a big part hopefully.

With San Diego Comic-Con this week, we’re sure to get more news on Arrow season 8. So make sure you’re following us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at Revenge of the Fans.

SOURCE: TVLine / Entertainment Weekly / Twitter