It sounds like we haven't seen the last of Roy Harper in Arrow, but actor Colton Haynes has revealed he will not be a series regular in the show's eight and final season.
Responding to fans on Twitter, Haynes confirmed that the studio did not ask him to return as a series regular, but also added that his character, Roy, is "never gone for too long."
“Getting a lot of angry messages so just to clarify…I didn’t exit the last season of Arrow,” he tweeted. “I was not asked to come back for the final season as a series regular. But y’all know Roy…he’s never gone for too long.”
Exactly what this means for his character as we prepare for the show's final season is unclear; however, series EP Beth Schwartz previously commented on Haynes' return at the Television Critics Association tour. "We hope to have him back," Schwartz said. "We love him and he’s obviously one of the foundations of the show.”
Haynes made recurring guests appearances throughout the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons of Arrow, but returned in full-time capacity for season seven. But even then, he appeared in less than half of the season's 22 episodes in a flash-forward storyline that ultimately hasn't been resolved. Hopefully fans get some sort of closure in the final season.
Arrow will return to The CW for a 10-episode final run for Season 8.