SDCC 2016: Arrow Press Room

Team Arrow and Star City are not in good shape when Arrow returns for season five. Oliver is not doing his best job as mayor and Team Arrow has to find a way to continue without Thea and Diggle.

We talked with Executive Producer Wendy Mericle, Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, Willa Holland, David Ramsey, Paul Blackthorne and Echo Kellum about what’s next for their characters in the San Diego Comic-Con press room.

When we sat down with Amell, he said Oliver is doing a bad job as mayor and because of that Thea basically is the mayor. Oliver is just too busy being the Arrow to be the mayor.

He also said that with Thea and John gone from Team Arrow, Felicity wants new team members, while Oliver wants the old team back together.

Bonus, Amell can now confirm that flashpoint will affect Arrow but that may or may not be addressed on their show.

The lyricism of Felicity’s vocabulary, her jargon, really drew Rickards to the character.

“When it comes down to something of how she would say it, for me it’s knowing what she’s saying and what it is and then memorizing it like a song,” Rickards said.

Putting on the costume is Holland’s favorite part of doing the show and she’s really missing doing all the stunts: “more than anyone could ever, ever miss doing anything.”

Thea will be helping Oliver out in the mayoral office and figuring out who she is without Speedy. Holland made it sound like it’s going to be a very soul searching season for her character.

Sounds like Ramsey will be having a soul searching season, too. He said that Diggle is still working through why he killed his brother and he still feels responsible for Laurel’s death. This guilt is really affecting him and will be a theme throughout the season.

When Blackthorne was asked where Lance will be in this season, he said in “complete desolation and misery… It’s Arrow.”

He also said, “He’s going to be revisited by old demons,” but said it’s quite fun to play.

The actor hinted at those old demons being Lance falling off the wagon.

Looks like Blackthorne will be working with someone he doesn’t usually work with this season. He said, this year Lance is experiencing some new dynamics with a character he hasn’t been close to in the past.

No word on who this person will be yet, but he said he likes when the writers play with the dynamics of the relationships.

Kellum isn’t sure what Curtis’ status is at Palmer Tech yet, but said that the season is really just diving into what Team Arrow looks like now. He’s really excited to see Curtis getting out in the field helping Team Arrow.

Everyone is excited about the upcoming crossovers and Kellum would love to see Curtis and Cisco have scenes together.

Mericle said they are returning to their roots this season and making it more of a crime show with more closed-ended stories. Magic will still be there, but isn’t going to be driving the story this year.

She’s very excited for the Bratva flashbacks. They’ve all been waiting five years to do them. They are going to dive into the world of Bratva and it will tie into the present day more thematically than before, she said.