If you ask an average Arrow fan for the show’s best ever big bad, they’ll probably say Deathstroke. On top of his status in DC lore, Slade Wilson served as Oliver Queen’s nemesis in the series’ acclaimed second season and has returned a few times since then. But could Manu Bennett reprise his role again in Arrow‘s eighth and final run? The CW hasn’t announced anything just yet, but it certainly seems as if he may.
We Got This Covered has heard from our sources – the same ones who told us about the Arrow spinoff back in March, and that both Tom Welling and Katherine McNamara would be involved in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” – that there’s a good chance Bennett will show up in Arrow season 8. Now that production has finished on all 10 episodes, we’ve been told that the actor did shoot a secret cameo and while there’s a chance The CW won’t use it, apparently the odds seem likely that it’ll find its way into one of the remaining episodes.
For a short while there, we were told that Deathstroke was off-limits for the show, given that Warner Bros. were working on a film with Joe Manganiello. Seeing as that’s going nowhere, though, it’s likely this isn’t a problem anymore. In fact, Arrow season 8 has featured a heavy use of the villain’s legend already, even without Bennett turning up as the foe.
Two separate characters have been depicted as continuing Wilson’s legacy. In the present-day, Grant Wilson – Slade’s other son – planned to finish what his dad started until Team Arrow stopped him. Meanwhile, in the future of 2040, the scourge of Star City is John Diggle Jr., Diggle’s wayward son who’s the surprise leader of the Deathstroke gang.
With these two pretenders to his throne having already appeared, a cameo from Bennett would be a good way to put a button on the final season of Arrow. But for now, we’ll just have to wait and see if this comes through.