Arrow may be ending with its eighth season, but the legacy of the Emerald Archer will continue in the spinoff series titled Green Arrow and the Canaries. The female-led show will star Katherine McNamara as Mia Smoak, Oliver Queen and Felicity’s grown-up daughter, as well as Black Canaries Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy Rodgers) and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy). Up until now, though, the exact setting of the series has not been revealed.
Today, however, we’ve finally had it confirmed that Green Arrow and the Canaries will take place in Star City 2040 rather than the present. Arrow EP Marc Guggenheim unveiled the news on Twitter in response to a fan asking him about the mechanics of how the spinoff will be set up in season 8.
The #Arrow spinoff takes place in 2040. We already spoiled that Oliver is dead by that time, so his not appearing in Arrow 809 (the spinoff episode) isn't affected by what happens in Crisis (or, for that matter, the series finale). https://t.co/BkrFGnj6Fl
— Marc Guggenheim (@mguggenheim) November 19, 2019
As this exchange reminds us, Oliver is fated to die in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which Arrow 8×07 will be a part of. We can then expect him to sit out the penultimate episode of the show, which will be a backdoor pilot for the spinoff – sharing its title of “Green Arrow and the Canaries.” Guggenheim teases that Oliver will then return for the series finale, just as has been confirmed by set photos, but he apparently isn’t affected by the events of “Crisis”.
If Oliver is dead, you might be wondering who the Green Arrow of the spinoff’s title is. That’s Mia, who’s set to take over her father’s mantle in her own show. We’re already seeing the makings of her following in her dad’s footsteps on Arrow, as Mia and her friends are currently trapped in the past and working with the present-day Team Arrow. Now, we know they’ll eventually return to their own time and begin their own adventures.
Arrow continues with episode 8×05 “Prochnost” tonight (Tuesday, November 19th) on The CW.