As Arrow shoots into its eighth and final season, several characters are making a surprising return while another will be playing an even larger role. Colin Donnell’s Tommy Merlyn and Josh Segarra’s Adrian “Prometheus” Chase are coming back from the dead, with Katherine McNamara’s Mia Smoak heading into the concluding season as a series regular.
“Adrian Chase comes back in a different way than expected,” showrunner Beth Schwartz said. “We’re really excited about that because obviously he’s one of our favorite villains.” However, executive producer Marc Guggenheim promised that Donnell is “not coming back as the Tommy we know.”
Merlyn was collateral damage during the Undertaking way back in Arrow’s debut season. Donnell has reprised the role several time, once as an alternate reality version in the “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover. He has also appeared in flashbacks, hallucinations, and as a symptom of Oliver Queen’s concussion in season seven.
In his quest for revenge, Segarra’s Prometheus ended up shooting himself in the head in the season five finale. He also later returned as a hallucination in the season six episode, “Fundamentals.”
McNamara’s Smoak, on the other hand, was introduced in season seven in the 2040 flash-forward timeline as Oliver’s daughter. Along with her mom Felicity, half-brother William, and John Diggle’s adopted son Connor Hawke, they served as the remaining members of Team Arrow.
Although it remains unclear if McNamara will appear in the Arrowverse crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” she will likely appear in most, if not all, of the series’ remaining 10 episodes.
Arrow returns for its final season on October 15, 2019, at 9 PM ET/PT on The CW. The series stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog, Juliana Harkavy as Black Canary, Colton Haynes as Arsenal, and Katie Cassidy as Black Siren.