By Season 3 of Arrow wrapped with Oliver Queen finally deciding to walk away from his dangerous, taxing life of crime-fighting to settle down with his love Felicity Smoak. That romantic bliss won’t last long, if the CW’s trailer for the upcoming fourth season is to be believed – not surprising, considering there isn’t really a show without the Arrow.
Oliver is apparently pulled back into the crimefighting life by the threat of Damien Darhk, who was teased as a major villain last season. Darhk wants to destroy the now-renamed Star City, and Oliver’s ever-growing team of sidekicks – including his sister Thea, now in the full-fledged Red Arrow/Arsenal role – aren’t enough to stop him. That presumably draws Oliver back into the fold, with a spiffy new costume and finally going by the name Green Arrow (though that isn’t said outright in the trailer). We also get glimpses of a couple of notable guest stars – Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific and Matt Ryan as John Constantine, reprising his role from NBC’s late Constantine. You’ll also get a couple of glimpses of the new look Diggle’s rockin’ to conceal his identity. There are certainly more Easter eggs – surely you’ll want to watch it a dozen times and dissect it for yourself; check it out below.
To say I’m excited for Arrow‘s return is a bit of an understatement. When the show first debuted, I wrote it off as a too-soapy CW knock-off trying too hard to be The Dark Knight. That assessment isn’t totally off the mark – especially in that first season – but the show quickly overcame that and has only gotten better the more it’s embraced its weird comic-book roots. Arrow‘s third season wasn’t as strong as its stellar second year, but paired with sister-show The Flash, CW’s super-shows are still some of my most enjoyable hours of television every week. The Oct. 7 season premiere can’t get here fast enough.
But seriously though – what is up with Diggle’s dumb helmet?