‘Arrow’ Season 6 Is Bringing The Old In With The New, Plus The Return Of This Season 1 Fan Favorite

The CW just announced that is has officially renewed Arrow for a 7th season. While there are plenty of things to look forward to, the show’s first casting announcement came as a welcome surprise. Colton Haynes, who briefly returned as Roy “Arsenal” Harper in Season 6, will officially become a series regular moving forward.

According to Newsweek, producers just confirmed that they are bringing back Haynes full-time for Season 7. Haynes has been a part of the series on-and-off since Season 2 and plays the role of the vigilante Arsenal. The news is certainly exciting for fans and it sounds like producers can’t wait to expand Arsenal’s story next season.

“We’re very fortunate and excited to welcome back Colton to Arrow,” producers shared in a recent statement. “While we’ve always enjoyed Colton’s returns to the show, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him return as a proper series regular and we’re very excited about all the creative opportunities Roy Harper’s return affords us.”

In Season 6, Haynes appeared in two episodes and helped wrap up Thea’s (Willa Holland) storyline. Thea and Haynes were on the verge of leaving town and living happily ever after — something Arrow fans always hoped would happen — but the arrival of The Thanatos Guild ruined their plans.

While the guild did not complete their mission to kill Thea, she and Roy discovered that there are three Lazarus Pits in the world. So now Thea and Roy are on a mission to destroy the rest of the Lazarus Pits.

We don’t know how large of a role Holland will play moving forward. The actress has already expressed an interest in minimal screen time, so there’s a chance she only has a few cameos next season.

Thea and Roy have always been linked, so it’s hard to say where his story would go without her. If Holland decides to return for another season, there’s a good chance we’ll get to see her and Roy search for the remaining Lazarus Pits.

If Holland doesn’t return, Roy could just team up with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and become a part of Team Arrow. Oliver is pretty much alone defending Star City after watching his partnership with Diggle (David Ramsey) fall apart and could use another hand fighting crime.

That said, executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently teased that Season 6 will end with a major twist, which could have an impact on Roy’s storyline next season.

Season 6 of Arrow is almost over, so it won’t be long before we have a better idea of how Roy will fit in next season. Speaking of the end of the season, fans will be treated to another appearance of Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn before the finale.

Tommy died way back in Season 1 and will appear on Episode 21. We don’t know any details about Donnell’s cameo, but it’s exciting to see him back in action.

New episodes of Arrow air Thursday nights on The CW.