First ‘Arrow’ Season 6 Photo Reveals New Black Canary, Reboot Talk

Even as Arrow attempted to conceal its Season 6 cast by way of an explosive cliffhanger, at least two new series regulars will live to fight another day. Case in point, Juliana Harkavy’s Dinah Drake suits up as Black Canary in a first Season 6 photo, while showrunners discuss the potential reboot.

It was Harkavy and co-star Rick Gonzalez that cemented Dinah and Rene “Wild Dog” Ramirez coming back for Season 6, though co-creator Marc Guggenheim downplayed series regular contracts as any official executioner’s stay. Nonetheless, Entertainment Weekly reveals Harkavy’s new Black Canary costume, guaranteeing her “Lian Yu” survival for the time being.

Worth noting; showrunner Wendy Mericle wouldn’t comment on the circumstances that saw Dinah surviving the island explosion, or accepting a costume in the aftermath. “We haven’t gotten the specific story for it at the moment, but it’s something that I think [we’ll explore],” says Mericle. “We have an intervening five months between the finale and where we pick up in the premiere and I think we will take the opportunity to tell the full story of it.”

Not only that, but Mericle spoke to Season 6 embracing a new theme of “family” as Oliver and co. rebuild their reputation after Adrian Chase’s demise. The occasional flashback will remain in play, though Mericle had specific thoughts on the idea of Season 6 serving as “reboot”:

Reboot is one of those words. It’s so funny. I think in some ways yes, I do, but I also think that word can get misconstrued very easily. This show is evolving and it’s exciting because it is a new dynamic this season without the flashbacks. I know I keep saying we have more real estate, but we’ve been in the writers’ room for three weeks and it’s been amazing how different the show feels. There’s just a lot more freedom. It’s actually very exciting because we can take this show to different places now and to different directions. I’ll repeat it, but it really is exciting to have the time and the space to talk about these other characters. We were always sort of pressed, and moved stories so quickly. We’re still moving stories that same way, we just have a little more space to explore other points of view and other characters. It’s fun.

We’ll see if Arrow manages to keep its other victims under wraps until Comic-Con 2017, so stay tuned in the meantime.