Stephen Amell is returning for The Flash’s final season

If you thought yesterday’s news about the Arrowverse cameos in The Flash’s final season was a big deal, here’s something to top that: STEPHEN AMELL IS RETURNING AS OLIVER QUEEN!

That sort of news elicits all-caps because it is so exciting. Arrow was the show that kicked off the Arrowverse. And now, with Amell’s return, The Flash’s ninth and final season will serve as an official farewell to this era of DCTV. (I know Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights are still on the CW, but you know what I mean.)

Amell’s return as Oliver Queen brings up a lot of questions. He essentially died twice during the epic crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” so how exactly will he return? Luckily, the Flash is an expert in time travel, so I’m sure he has something up his sleeve.

Stephen Amell will reprise his role as Oliver Queen on The Flash

The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace broke the news about Amell’s return while speaking to TVLine, but didn’t give many details. “As soon as our final season was announced, we knew we wanted Stephen to come back and reprise his iconic role as Oliver Queen. After all, it was Oliver who originally launched Barry Allen on his heroic path. That’s why everyone on Team Flash felt so strongly that it was important to create a full-circle moment with Oliver’s return in the final season of The Flash.”

According to Wallace, Amell’s cameo will provide “an epic-yet-emotional episode we hope Arrowverse fans will enjoy.”

"It’s all to say ‘thank you’ to everyone for watching and supporting our show throughout nine wonderful years. We absolutely cannot wait for everyone to see Grant [Gustin] and Stephen saving the world together again. And yes, there will be thrills, chills and tears."

As a Day One Arrowverse fan, these words are music to my ears. As the DCTV universe has essentially crumbled into ashes over the last year, it’s exciting to look forward to one last hurrah with the OG superheroes. And this announcement comes on the heels of news of three other cameos, including Keiynan Lonsdale, David Ramsey, and Sendhil Ramamurthy. Javicia Leslie (Ryan Wilder/Batwoman) and Nicole Maines (Nia Nal/Dreamer) were previously announced as well, and there’s hopefully more to come.

I really hope that Carlos Valdes (Cisco/Vibe) and Tom Cavanagh (Eobard Thawne/Harrison Wells/many other characters) both make a return. They are an integral part of Team Flash, so here’s to hoping they reprise their roles!

All these cameos, including Stephen Amell’s, will appear in the final season’s ninth episode, directed by Team Flash’s very own Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin/Killer Frost). This is going to be epic, ya’ll!

Tune in for the beginning of the end when The Flash Season 9 premieres on Wednesday, February 9 on The CW!

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h/t The A.V. Club