Arrow: Spin-off show about The Canaries is in production

Reports confirm that an Arrow spin-off headlined by stars Katherine McNamara, Katie Cassidy and Juliana Harkavy is in development at The CW.

Finally, the most highly anticipated news for Arrowverse fans has arrived! After much conjecture about the future of the Arrow characters following the end of the show, Deadline has revealed that a spin-off series set in the 2040 timeline of the show is in production. The series will follow the all-female vigilante group The Canaries, with star Katherine McNamara reprising her role as Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak’s daughter Mia Smoak, with Arrow vet Katie Cassidy and Juliana Harkavy returning as Black Canaries Laurel Lance and Dinah Drake, respectively.

Like the majority of the Arrowverse shows, this spin-off will get a backdoor pilot on Arrow, most likely in the much talked about Canaries episode. While the Arrowverse has plenty of female characters, it is still exciting to see a show primarily about a band of women working together.

Mia Smoak, while far removed from the comic book character she was based on, is an abrasive and reluctant hero who has captured the imagination of many viewers. She was very dismissive of the Canaries’ ways in Season 7 of Arrow, so it will be interesting to see how she interacts with them in the spin-off.

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The redemption of Laurel Lance is an aspect that several fans are looking forward to seeing. The original character has been poorly handled by the creative team and was eventually killed off when she was hardly given any screen time or story arcs.

Cassidy’s return as the villainous Black Siren has seen this new Laurel develop greatly, as the character embraced her heroic side and became the Black Canary.

Dinah Drake in the future has lost her meta abilities following an attack which played out in Season 7. But she remains a charismatic and powerful leader – something many viewers are looking forward to seeing more of. During Season 7, Dinah was the heart of the 2040 timeline, keeping all the disparate characters together while being a badass in the field.

Considering how much focus was put on developing the 2040 characters in Arrow‘s seventh season, many felt that the end of the show gave them short shrift. There is still plenty to be explored, not only with The Canaries like Zoe Ramirez, but also Oliver’s son, William Clayton, and John Diggle’s sons John Jr. and Connor Hawke. There’s been no confirmation that these characters will feature in the show, but one can only expect that such news will follow suit.

Catch the spin-off pilot once Arrow returns on Tuesday, October 15. Are you excited about this Birds of Prey/StarCity 2040 spin-off? What are you most looking forward to seeing? Let us know in the comments below!