The CW’s Arrow isn’t a terribly dark show, but it’s also never been a particularly light or uplifting one either. While the comic book incarnation of the Emerald Archer, Oliver Queen, has an idealistic rogue’s tongue, the character’s television incarnation, played by Stephen Amell, has always been more subdued. Now, though, it’s sounding like Amell himself would like to see a shift in the Green Arrow’s attitude.
The news comes out of a panel from a Nashville-based Heroes and Villains Fan Fest, where Amell took to the stage and said he wants to see Oliver make a turn toward a more lighthearted, comic-accurate iteration. Amell was quick to point out that the Oliver of comic book fame is quite different than the CW version.
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“Obviously the Oliver Queen that a lot of people know from the comics, if they were familiar with that character before they were familiar with my iteration of the character, is a lot more, I guess, idealistic.” Amell said. “Politically driven a little bit, and funny. He smiles.”
That’s not to say that the CW version of Oliver is dower by any means. This last season has shown that the character has his own subtle sense of humor. The recent season five finale capped off a particularly brutal storyline, though, ending in the deaths of several key villains and accomplices. While details are still sparse as to how season six will pan out in the long term, there’s always a chance for a tonal shift. Given how the series started off, though, it’s not surprising it took Oliver nearly five seasons to hint he’s got a funny bone.
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“The character that we met in season one had just gone through a horrific series of events,” Amell said. “Now he’s a little bit more well-adjusted. I would hope that as that happens, that the character still gets to evolve a little bit. I think that would push him more towards the areas that people are familiar with in the comics. A sense of humor. A lightheartedness.”
Returning to the CW on Thursday, October 12 at 9 p.m., the sixth season of Arrow will star Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, Katie Cassidy as Black Siren, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt, Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog, Juliana Harkavy as Black Canary and Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance.
(via ComicBook.com)