SDCC 2019: Everything we learned about Arrow’s final season

The cast and creative team of Arrow gave us all a lot of insight into the show’s final season at San Diego Comic-Con, and here’s everything we all learned.

The cast of Arrow may have just started filming the show’s eighth and final season, but that didn’t stop them from taking a brief detour from Star City, as they headed to San Diego for their final Comic-Con panel.

Taking to the stage one last time, Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy Rodgers (both of whom were there at the show’s first Comic-Con appearance back in 2012), David Ramsey, Juliana Harkavy and Rick Gonzalez were joined by executive producer Marc Guggenheim and producer James Bamford as they all reflected on everything that Arrow accomplished during its seven-year run on the air.

However, they also looked forward, previewing what’s to come in the 10-episode final season of the show that kick-started the Arrowverse.

From returning faces and new suits to uncharted territory and multiverse madness, there were quite a few surprising announcements made during the event. With that in mind, let’s delve into everything we learned about the final season of Arrow from the cast’s last appearance at San Diego Comic-Con.

This season will adopt more of an episodic approach

Like all of the Arrowverse shows, each season of Arrow tends to tell a long narrative across 22-23 episodes in which some greater evil threatens Star City and/or seeks to destroy Oliver Queen. So, while there can be occasional episodes that focus on a standalone adventure, the vast majority of the season is devoted to telling a greater story.

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However, according to Stephen Amell, that won’t be the case this season. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that, due to the limited number of episodes they have in Season 8 (that number being 10), the show will be adopting more of an episodic approach – meaning that each episode will have more of a standalone feel to them.

Katie Cassidy Rodgers then supported this, adding that each episode was like its own “mini-movie”.

It appears that the new format will all revolve around Oliver’s attempts to recruit new heroes to help him stop the Crisis. Thus, while we should expect to see every episode tell its own self-contained story, they will take place within the confines of the season’s overall narrative, with each one progressing the story a little further.

Laurel is getting a new Black Canary suit

It appears that the redemption of Earth-2’s Laurel Lance is set to reach new heights. That’s right, the former supervillain who made her debut on The Flash back in 2016 and called herself Black Siren, has officially become a fully-fledged superhero – so much so, that she’s got a brand new suit.

Laurel’s bonds with Quentin, Felicity and Dinah over the past two years eventually led to her dropping her dark days for good and, in doing so, she donned her Earth-1 doppelganger’s heroic outfit to become the Black Canary – a role that we now know she will hold for decades.

Though she has officially carried on the original Laurel’s legacy, that hasn’t stopped her from creating her own, as the Season 8 trailer highlighted that she has both a new hairstyle and a new costume. With a healthy mix of both black and yellow and, most importantly, fishnets, it looks nothing short of amazing!

Welcome home, Black Canary.

Katie Cassidy Rodgers will direct an episode

Though her character may be busy kicking ass and taking names (and doing it in style) in front of the camera, Katie Cassidy Rodgers is going to be getting busy behind the camera as well.

Yup, that’s right, Arrow‘s leading lady will be transitioning into the role of director for a single episode, as she will direct the third episode of the season.

Her first time directing, Cassidy revealed that she recently completed the Warner Bros. Directors Program and is incredibly excited for the experience – and so are we!

New journeys lie ahead for the remnants of Team Arrow

During the panel, it was also revealed that the remaining members of Team Arrow would attempt to find a way to move forward without Oliver in their lives. Even though they are presently unaware of the major multiverse-saving mission he has taken on, they still have to protect Star City in his absence.

Dinah Drake will continue to do so in Season 8 as the captain of the SCPD while Rene Ramirez will begin moving into the political career that we know he eventually excels at in the future. John Diggle, however, won’t be transitioning so seamlessly.

As he was Oliver’s bodyguard from the very beginning, it will be hard for him to move on without him in his life. But, as the trailer suggests, he has no intention of doing that. With a badass new jacket, it appears that Diggle also joins Oliver’s quest to prevent the Crisis.

John Diggle Jr. is coming to the flash-forwards

The flash-forwards played a major role during Arrow‘s seventh season, as we saw the next generation of Team Arrow come together. Oliver’s children William Clayton and Mia Smoak (who is also Felicity’s daughter) formed an alliance with Connor Hawke as they took down Galaxy One.

Unlike the future timeline in Legends of Tomorrow, however, Hawke was not actually a blood relation of John Diggle. He was, in fact, Bronze Tiger’s son (who Diggle later adopted). Unfortunately, John Diggle Jr., or J.J. as he is currently known, goes rogue at some point in the future and joins the Deathstroke gang.

That said, we don’t have to wait much longer to meet the grown-up version of J.J., as it was revealed at Comic-Con that Russian Doll‘s Charlie Barnett would be joining the show as a series regular.

Undoubtedly an exciting development, can Diggle’s sons patch up their relationship? Guess we’re finally going to find out!

Arrow returns to The CW for its final season on Tuesday, October 15, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Are you excited? Will you miss the show when it ends? Let us know in the comments below!