Before the Arrowverse comes to an end, Stephen Amell must return as Oliver Queen in The Flash season 9. While the end of The Flash has not been confirmed to be the end of the Arrowverse Earth-Prime setting, it seems unlikely it will be continuing in other series. The new ownership of the CW network has canceled every other ongoing DC Comics superhero show set on Earth-Prime and DC Studios' new CEOs are pushing to move all their movies, television series, and games into a new shared setting. This makes it all the more imperative that Stephen Amell return as Oliver Queen, so the Arrowverse setting can come full circle.
While Stephen Amell has not appeared in any Arrowverse productions since Arrow came to an end in 2020, he has always been agreeable to returning to the role of Oliver Queen for the right project. Amell specifically addressed a Flash Season 9 appearance on his Instagram, claiming that he hadn't been asked, but it would be fun if he did do a cameo. He enigmatically added that viewers were "going to have to watch" and see if he showed up, leaving the question open. This seemed similar to the denials Lucifer star Tom Ellis made regarding a rumored cameo in Crisis on Infinite Earths, which turned out to be true.
Stephen Amell In Flash Season 9 Can Help Properly End The Arrowverse
A Stephen Amell cameo in The Flash season 9 would make sense for several reasons. Should the final season of The Flash truly be the capstone of the Arrowverse, it is only fitting that the hero who started it all in Arrow and sacrificed himself to save the setting in Crisis on Infinite Earths be there for the end. Even if the Arrowverse does continue, through Superman and Lois or the upcoming Justice U series with John Diggle, there would be a certain resonance to Oliver Queen, who mentored the Barry Allen Flash, being there for his last televised adventure.
How Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen Can Return in The Flash Season 9
The simplest way to bring Oliver Queen back in The Flash season 9 is in the guise of the Spectre, whose mantle Oliver took from Jim Corrigan in the Crisis on Infinite Earths event. While Arrow ended with Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak seemingly retiring to enjoy paradise, that event seemed to have occurred following Felicity's death in 2040. This means that Oliver could still be active as the Spectre, operating behind the scenes of the Arrowverse and helping to maintain the cosmic balance in The Flash season 9. Indeed, this idea has already been teased by the Arrowverse tie-in comic book miniseries Earth-Prime.
Earth-Prime confirmed Green Arrow still filled the Spectre's role, as Oliver Queen was wearing the Spectre's robes in the final issue, when he delivered a warning that a great threat to reality was approaching. This might have been a reference to the Red Death of The Flash season 9, who would certainly qualify as a threat to the cosmic order the Spectre safeguards. Even if it was not, the fact that the Earth-Prime comics were written by a team of Arrowverse writers could make them canon to the shows, making it all the more likely that Stephen Amell could return as the Spectre in The Flash season 9.
The other way Stephen Amell might return as Oliver Queen for The Flash season 9 could be as part of a time-travel storyline. Such a story could also address the cliffhanger ending of Legends of Tomorrow season 7 and give the long-running time-travel superhero series a proper finale. That would allow Stephen Amell to suit up as Green Arrow one more time and also give the Arrowverse a truly epic ending.