There is no question that Arrow star Stephen Amell and executive producer Marc Guggenheim, like him or not, do an amazing job of communicating with and keeping fans in the loop regarding the show. With production of Arrow’s fourth season right around the corner, they both took to social media to give us some early information.
First, Stephen Amell answered some fan questions on Twitter and Facebook. He told us that, like the previous breaks, the time passed between seasons will be five or six months.
“Time has passed. Like the standard amount of time. We go in real-time, like we normally do. So, five or six months have passed since the finale.”
We were also given a possible theme of the season’s first episode in this tweet:
Guggenheim decided to get in on the action the other day when he tweeted a photo of the script for the season four premier and yesterday he took to Tumblr to answer some spoiler-free questions regarding some of the themes we will see in season four.
– More Diggle. In two separate questions, Marc leads us to believe that Diggle will be taking on the leadership role on Team Arrow with Oliver’s departure from Starling and that he will be seeing more action in the field. Unfortunately, no news about a potential mask or moniker.
– Exploration of Felicity’s backstory. When asked about the potential of the show delving into the character’s history, Marc answered “Season 4 will make you happy” which leads us to believe that we will see more of Felicity in season four…great. In all seriousness though, I do think a solid backstory arc could put the character back in favor with the non-olicity crowd, but it has to be done right and if season three’s handling of the character is any foretelling of what we may see then I can’t say that I’m excited.
– More interactions between female characters. A question that you’d expect on Tumblr, but it seems like we’ll be seeing some more scenes involving the female members of Team Arrow together, including Thea, Felicity, Laurel, and maybe Nyssa — can we call them the Birds of Prey??
– The return of the Huntress..? When asked about the possibility of a Helena Bertinelli appearance, he said “I hope so!” As of now, I’d probably bet against it, but I would love to see Huntress come back to Starling and maybe even work with the team a bit. I know she wasn’t the most popular character but I think there is a lot of potential there.
– A lighter tone. One fan correctly assumed that many fans were turned off by the angst and drama surrounding the romance between Oliver and Felicity. Marc was asked if season four would explore a more healthy relationship between the two and leave out the teenage drama. Marc’s answer to this was rather lengthy for him;
“…we as writers get tired of angst too and are looking to strike a lighter tone in Season 4.”
This is a very important answer. Arrow became more and more of a soap opera with every episode last season. While it worked in seasons one and two, the dark and grim tone of the show doesn’t seem to fit with a universe that now includes a plethora of metahumans and a show that, frankly, doesn’t sport the greatest acting on television. I think that a lighter tone is in the series’ best interest and will distance itself from the Batman comparisons and allow for the full exploration the Green Arrow character and mythos.