The CW has released a new trailer for the upcoming season of “Arrow” and it honors the legacy of Laurel Lance.
Black Canary may be gone, but her memory will live on as Oliver unveils a statue of the crimefighter in Star City.
In the teaser, Oliver gives a contemplative look at the statue thinking that it’s a reminder of his friend’s sacrifice for the city and the team.
Fans will remember that last season, Laurel died after fighting Damien Darhk along with the whole team. Her death has caused everyone to doubt their ability to save and protect the city.
TV Line reports that Katie Cassidy, who plays Laurel and the Black Canary, will be back for the Season 5 premiere episode, entitled “Legacy,” to reveal what her character told Oliver before her death.
Cassidy has also signed deals to make appearances on spin-offs “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow,” but it’s not clear which version of herself will she be playing.
Reports say that she will appear through flashbacks especially in “Legends of Tomorrow,” given her sister, Sara Lance a.ka. the White Canary is also grieving her loss.
The upcoming season will pick up five months after the events of the Season 4 finale with Thea, Diggle, and Felicity all hesitant to resume their crimefighting life after Laurel’s shocking death.
The trailer also features Digs in his army fatigue and Felicity being shaken after a lot of people were harmed in a missile destruction. It also introduces new enemies targeting the Green Arrow.
The fifth season will feature many characters, including Carly Pope who will portray a Coast City reporter, Josh Segarra’s Adrian Chase a.k.a. Vigilante, Joe Dinicol as Rory Regan, and Rick Gonzales as Wild Dog.
The short clip also highlights Chad Coleman, who will be playing the fifth season’s big bad, Tobias Church. Not much has been revealed about Coleman’s character, but it looks like Team Arrow will need to pull themselves together to defeat him.
Executive producer Marc Guggenheim has also revealed that the upcoming season will be the last of the flashback scenes of Oliver Queen.
Guggenheim says that the season will contain flashbacks from Russia where Dolph Lundgren will be introduced as Queen’s enemy.
According to TV Line, Oliver’s time in the Russian mafia Bratva will be explored. Lundgren’s character is yet to be named but Guggenheim teases that his character is a government strongman.
He adds that he has a role with what happened to Tatiana’s family last season. The showrunner says that the final installments of the flashback will be interesting as the writers have really done some extensive research to make the flashbacks as realistic as possible.
Stephen Amell, who plays the eponymous hero, teases more action and the show returning to its roots in Season 5 while producer Wendy Mericle reveals that the theme of the upcoming season will be about legacy.
Mericle says that the season will focus on Oliver being torn between his responsibilities as mayor of Star City, and his other life as the city’s hooded protector.
The producer also clarifies that the show will not touch the aspect of magic saying that the one with Damien Darhk and Matt Ryan’s John Constantine was a one-time thing.
She adds that it was an experiment that won’t be repeated as the show was always meant to be a gritty crime drama at its heart. She said that the writing staff is going back to basics with the upcoming season.
Mericle says that once they incorporate magic into “Arrow,” it will be difficult for the audience to grasp the show especially since it crosses to multiple worlds such as “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” and “Supergirl.”
In fact, IGN reports that the season will celebrate the show’s 100th episode and there’s a huge crossover between the four shows for that. This will give Oliver the opportunity to meet Kara Danvers for the first time.