Season 5 (Arrow)

On March 11, 2016, Arrow was renewed for a fifth season by The CW.

Main cast

 * Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
 * David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan
 * Willa Holland as Thea Queen/Speedy
 * Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak/Overwatch
 * Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt/Mr.Terrific
 * Josh Segarra as Adrian Chase/Vigilante
 * Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance/Detective

Recurring cast

 * Colton Haynes as Roy Harper/Arsenal
 * Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog
 * TBA as "James"
 * TBA as Derek Zaba
 * TBA as Promethues
 * Madison McLaughlin as Evelyn Sharp/Artemis
 * Chad L. Coleman as Tobias Church
 * Tyler Ritter as Detective Malone
 * Carly Pope as Susan Williams
 * David Nykl as Anatoly Knyazev
 * Joe Dinicol as Rory Regan/Ragman
 * Dolph Lundgren as Kovar
 * Wil Traval as Christopher Chance/Human Target
 * David Meunier as Ishmael Gregor

Universe regulars

 * Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart/Captain Cold
 * John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer
 * Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance

Synopsis
''After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the North China Sea. He returned home to Star City, bent on righting the wrongs done by his family and fighting injustice. As the Green Arrow, he protects his city with the help of former soldier John Diggle, computer-science expert Felicity Smoak, his vigilante-trained sister Thea Queen, former police captain Quentin Lance, and brilliant inventor Curtis Holt. But sinister players with a connection to Oliver's past will push the team to its breaking point, threatening everything Oliver's worked for and his legacy as the Green Arrow.''

''Newly appointed Mayor Oliver Queen finds himself challenged as he fights on two fronts for the future of Star City. With Diggle back in the military and Thea adamant about hanging up her hood as Speedy, Team Green Arrow is down to just Oliver and Felicity – but they’re no longer the only vigilantes in town. Green Arrow’s public defeat of Damien Darhk at the end of Season Four has inspired a new crop of masked heroes to step up and defend the city, though their painful inexperience makes them obstacles, rather than allies, in the field. The arrival of a deadly new adversary will force Oliver to confront questions about his own legacy, both as mayor and as the Green Arrow.''

Confirmed plot points

 * The flashbacks are poised to be more engrossing and focused. Also, the flashbacks will reveal how Oliver got his Bratva tatoo, and how he learned to speak Russian.
 * There will be a crossover between Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow in December 2016, with one episode from each series acting as a chapter in a four-part story. The plot for the crossover will be an adaptation of DC Comics' "Invasion!" story event from the late 1980s. In keeping with the source material, the villains of the television event will be an alien race known as the Dominators.
 * Arrow 's will be the 8th episode in the season, and the 100th episode of the series overall.
 * Kara Danvers/Supergirl is confirmed to appear and play a major role during the crossover.
 * While Stephen Amell has admitted that he does not know if the season two finale of The Flash will impact the plot of Arrow going forward, he has said on several occasions that the show will be taking a grounded approach in its fifth season, stating that, "Arrow is at its best when we're dealing with problems in Star City. We're not a time-travel show, we're not a multi-Earth show, though obviously [we do that] with crossovers and stuff like that. We're Arrow, we deal with Star City, and I feel like we'll be better off focusing on that."
 * However, Amell later stated that it will "majorly" affect season 5.
 * John Diggle/Spartan will get a new helmet in this season.
 * Madison McLaughlin will return as Evelyn Sharp who will take on the mantle Artemis in the 2nd episode.
 * Oliver Queen will get a new Green Arrow suit, which will be "a slightly modified version" of the current design, this was revealed in the trailer that the suit had received sleeves..
 * A character who has not been seen in 2 full seasons will make an appearance..
 * Stephen Amell's former rival and former WWE star Cody Rhodes will making an appearance as Derek Sampson in A Matter of Trust.
 * The big bad of the season will be Prometheus, although he isn't the DC created character and instead a separate creation who will fit into the theme of "legacy".
 * Stephen Amell said that the season is very 'patient' and that they are "taking their time, so everything can go crazy in the second half of the year."
 * Curtis Holt will get his hero suit by the end of the season.
 * The main villain is a direct result of Oliver's actions when he returned to Starling City at the beginning of the series.

Confirmed new characters

 * "James": An "irrepressibly charming" contemporary of Oliver's who is described as "a man on a mission" — out as he is to avenge a tragic, violent loss from his own, years-ago past. The character is said to "just as easily shake your hand as your best friend or break your neck as your worst enemy — and you never know which one is coming. Either way, he's more than capable of having a good time as he does it." As far as Stephen Amell knows, he doesn't have superpowers.
 * Adrian Chase/Vigilante: Star City's new district attorney and an ally of Mayor Oliver Queen, who aims to clean up the streets through the legal system.
 * Derek Zaba: A man of fierce intelligence whose wit and humor belie a person wrestling with deep-seated demons. Derek looks to his Jewish faith to ground himself, having been raised in a devout family, and while usually kind and well-meaning, he also can come off as a physical threat.
 * Susan Williams: A journalist from nearby Coast City who comes to Star City "looking to make a name for herself" by targeting Oliver Queen for a big story.
 * Rory Regan: A man fresh from a loss looking for answers in Star City.
 * Prometheus: According to Wendy Mericle, he is "collateral damage who lost someone to the Hood and [has] spent the last several years training and plotting for revenge. He will be a true dark mirror to Oliver Queen."
 * Christopher Chance/Human Target: A professional bodyguard and master of disguise who assumes the identities of those targeted by assassins, the character (aka Christopher Chance) will appear in Episode 5 when he takes on a new client: Mayor Oliver Queen.
 * Ishmael Gregor: The slick and intimidating Pakhan (“Godfather”) of the Bratva, whom Anatoly reports and takes a special interest in Oliver Queen.