‘Arrow’ Season 5 Casting Call Reveals ‘Charming’ New Villain, Will Stephen Amell Return As Oliver Queen?

The fourth season of Arrow is almost a wrap. With only four more episodes remaining, producers are already planning what comes next for Team Arrow. While a casting call for a new villain has been announced, other questions surrounding Stephen Amell’s future have surfaced. Will Amell return as Oliver Queen or call it quits in Season 5?

According to TV Line, a casting call for a new character named James has been announced. James is described as an “irrepressibly charming” person who is on a mission for revenge. The character is expected to be a villain in Season 5 and will be a physical threat to Oliver and company.

Beyond the casting call description, little else is known about James’ back story. According to Comic Book Movie, there is a possibility that James has ties to Oliver’s past. Although it has not been confirmed, the new villain might be included as part of Oliver’s flashbacks.

Speaking of the flashbacks, Mirror is reporting that Marc Guggenheim explained the reasoning behind the flashbacks and what made them such a good tool in the early seasons. Although some fans are getting tired of the constant time jumps, Guggenheim shared how they help explain Oliver’s development.

“Part of the appeal of the flashbacks — certainly in the first two years, but I think the first three years — is seeing what a big difference it is between Oliver Queen in the present day and Oliver Queen five years ago,” he stated. “The problem is that we are telling a five-year story in the flashbacks of Oliver becoming the guy you met in the pilot. So the deeper you get into the flashbacks, the closer he becomes to being that guy, and, thus, you lose that element of the flashbacks that was so interesting…”

At the same time, Wendy Mericle revealed that the flashbacks might feature Oliver in Russia in the new season. Could this be where Oliver encounters the new villain?

“We know what we’re working up to,” she shared. “The season will be easier to break because we have an endpoint, and we work backward from there. I don’t want to tip too much, but it’s a very good possibility that we’ll finally find out how Oliver got that Bratva tattoo and how he learned to speak Russian.”

Meanwhile, the biggest question heading into Season 5 is whether or not Amell plans to stick with the series. As previously reported by Inquisitr, there are rumors that Amell will announce his exit from Arrow in order to pursue other projects, including a possible jump to The CW’s hit series, Supernatural.

After all, Amell has appeared in a number of other shows since his time on Arrow. This includes crossover appearances on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Furthermore, Amell has revealed his love for Supernatural in the past, which could indicate that he is open to appearing on the show.

To add more credence to the reports, there is an upcoming episode in Supernatural’s eleventh season that is perfect for Amell. The installment features Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) chasing down a crime associated with professional wrestlers.

As fans will recall, Amell has a history of taking part in professional wrestling in real life. Last year, Amell appeared in a wrestling match during WWE’s SummerSlam. Amell proved his talents in the ring and even managed to defeat his now arch-rival, Stardust.

That being said, Amell has offered very little to suggest he’s leaving Arrow in the coming season. In fact, by all outside appearances, Amell is gearing up to reprise his role as Oliver Queen in the show’s fifth year and beyond.

Tell us! Do you want Stephen Amell to stick with Arrow through Season 5? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via The CW]