The show ran for eight seasons and saw Oliver Queen leave a lasting legacy as Arrow.

Stephen Amell portrayed Oliver Queen, also known as Arrow, in the CW’s Arrow. This series led to the creation of the Arrowverse, encompassing shows like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. Amell’s Arrow, however, was the pioneer, leaving a lasting impact by bringing numerous DC characters into the mainstream. Although the series concluded in 2020 after eight seasons, series creator Marc Guggenheim had envisioned a different finale. He revealed that while Oliver Queen’s death was always planned, he imagined him as a legendary figure who would continue to inspire other DC vigilantes, including Batman.

Arrow’s Original Ending Included An Appearance From Batman

Stephen Amell in Arrow

The CW launched several series based on DC characters, starting with Arrow. This series featured Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who becomes a vigilante in Starling City. Arrow enjoyed an eight-season run and was praised for its character development and bold story arcs.

In Arrow’s finale, Oliver Queen sacrifices himself for the world’s salvation, leaving behind a legacy. Marc Guggenheim, the co-creator and showrunner, revealed that he had always envisioned Oliver’s death at the series’ conclusion as a transformative symbol, motivating many to embrace vigilantism, including another wealthy individual from a place known as Gotham.

Guggenheim mentioned during the Fake Nerd Podcast that he wanted to introduce Batman into the Arrowverse at the end of the show, depicting him as a vigilante who was inspired by the actions of Oliver Queen. He said,

I kind of had a little bit of a fantasy that Oliver would die and you’d end with some sort of news broadcast talking about his legacy and that would sort of become the voice-over…And then you would go to this rooftop in a whole other city, and on the cut a thug or some bad guy would crash into the frame, having been punched off-screen. And these pair of black boots would come down right in front of him and there’d be a flutter of a scalloped cape and the voice-over would say something along the lines of, ‘Oliver Queen inspired a whole new generation of vigilantes.’ 

A still from Arrow

Though Batman was never shown in Arrow, his existence was implied multiple times in the Arrowverse, including in shows such as Titans. The CW show Batwoman also had allusions to the Caped Crusader.

The implication is, of course, that [Oliver] inspired Batman. So that, of course, didn’t happen for a variety of different reasons – not the least of which is Batwoman came along – but that was my original conception.

However, the ending went in a different way, showing Felicity Smole reuniting with Stephen Amell’s Oliver in an alternative universe.

Stephen Amell Wanted To Quit Playing Oliver Queen Earlier

A still from Arrow

Stephen Amell had a career breakthrough when he starred as Oliver Queen in Arrow. The actor had only played supporting roles and cameos in TV shows before he was cast as the titular vigilante. The actor went on to reprise his role in other Arrowverse shows and even voiced the character in games such as Injustice: Gods Among Us.

While Amell hung up his quiver in 2020 after an eight-season run, the actor reportedly wanted to quit a season earlier. The actor was reportedly annoyed with the intense scheduling of all the shows’ crossover episodes and was ready to leave the show before he was convinced by the executives to stick on. He said on the Inside of You podcast,

“I looked at it, and it would have been fiscally irresponsible for me to say no. Just fiscally irresponsible. I loved the s–t out of Season 8, I had a blast, but I was there for the money. More so than I had ever been.”

The actor mentioned that he was given a better offer from the studio which he could never refuse and hence decided to go ahead and give the fans an ending they deserved.

Arrow is streaming on Netflix.