Earlier today, production got started on the Season 5 finale of Arrow, with star Stephen Amell and executive producer Marc Guggenheim taking to Twitter to reveal the first photos from the set, and the title of the script page. Both the actor and producer's photos confirm that the Arrow Season 5 finale will be set on the island of Lian Yu, where Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen was stranded on for five years before the events of the series. Stephen Amell also posted another photo that confirmed the return of Deathstroke, featuring the character's iconic mask, but it seems that there may some confusion between Stephen Amell, Marc Guggenheim and Manu Bennett, who played Deathstroke on Arrow.
Stephen Amell tagged co-star Manu Bennett in the photo, and Marc Guggenheim also tagged the actor in his tweet, which revealed a photo of the season finale script's title page. Naturally, with both the main star and executive producer of the show tagging the actor, it seemed immediately clear that Manu Bennett was returning. However, it seemed the photo took the actor by surprising, replying to Stephen Amell's tweet with, "WTF????," followed by another tweet where he told his followers he isn't coming back to Arrow. Here's his brief statement below.
"For the record, I'm not going back for Arrow! #assumptionisthemotherofall..."
Still, after posting the script page, Marc Guggenheim added that Manu Bennett's return is "only the first of a few exciting announcements" regarding the season finale, which the producer mistakenly identified as the Season 6 finale, although it's the Season 5 finale. Fans haven't seen Deathstroke on Arrow since the Season 3 episode The Return, and back in February 2016, Marc Guggenheim revealed that Deathstroke is "currently tied up in another DC project," revealing he won't be coming back to the Arrowverse anytime soon. It was confirmed later in the year that Joe Manganiello will play Deathstroke in Warner Bros.' The Batman project, alongside Ben Affleck.
The script cover page revealed by Marc Guggenheim reveals that he co-wrote the episode with producer/writer Wendy Mericle, with Jesse Warn directing. The episode will be shot between April 7 and April 19. There are currently just five episodes left this season, although the show is on a month-long hiatus until April 26. The season finale is slated to air Wednesday, May 24, with the final five episodes airing each week without any more hiatuses to close out the season. The CW has already renewed the hit series for a sixth season, and we recently got a new update about another returning cast member.
Two weeks ago, it was confirmed that Katie Cassidy will be returning to Arrow as the Black Siren. Her character, the Black Canary, was killed in the Season 4 finale, but her doppleganger character Black Siren was introduced in the Season 5 fall finale. She was last seen in the winter premiere where she was locked up in an A.R.G.U.S. facility, but she will return in the final two episodes of Arrow Season 5, before returning as a series regular in Season 6. The actress previously had signed a unique deal that made her a series regular on all four of The CW shows, allowing her to jump between shows such as Legends of Tomorrow. Manu Bennett has been keeping plenty busy since leaving Arrow, starring in the high-octane action sequel Death Race 2050, portraying the iconic Frankenstein, and he also stars on MTV's hit fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles as Allanon. Take a look at these tweets below, which confirm Deathstroke's return.