‘Arrow’ Season 5 Plot, Updates: Oliver, Felicity Not Getting Back Together; Producer Admits Series was Testing for ‘Suicide Squad’ Movie

‘Arrow’ season 5 is set to feature the return of Oliver and Felicity but a romantic reunion between the two is not the focus of the series. Executive produced Greg Berlanti also admitted that the television series served as testing for David Ayer’s ‘Suicide Squad’ movie.  

According to Comic Book.com, executive producer Wendy Mericle shattered hopes of a possible Oliver and Felicity reunion when she revealed that the incoming season will be downplaying their relationship in favor of other aspects of the series.

It was reported by TV Line that the show will put more focus on Oliver as he takes on his duties and responsibilities as the new mayor while raising a new generation of Team Arrow. Mericle said, “The one thing that anchors and pulls everybody through is Oliver…  He’s very much the focus of the first nine [episodes].” Oliver is set to battle against the villain Prometheus.

Mericle continued, “They’re both in crisis mode. Oliver’s got two really big jobs, and [Felicity] is spinning out about Havenrock… Until they’ve gotten some clarity for themselves, there’s not much room for the relationship side of things.”

Emily Bett Rickards, who plays Felicity Smoak a.k.a. Overwatch in the series, revealed in a previous interview that her character will be moving on to come capacity with a new love interest that will be introduced early in season 5.

Co-star Stephen Amell, who plays the title role of Oliver Queen a.k.a. the Arrow, joked that his character will be alright with Felicity getting a new boyfriend. He said, “I think he will be fine. I think he will be fine… He will hug a pillow, much like I am hugging a pillow now, but he'll do it in private.”

The series based on the DC comic book character of the same name was scheduled for a renewal on The CW last March 11. It is scheduled to premiere on October 5, 2016.

According to Comic Book Movie, executive producer Greg Berlanti revealed that ‘Arrow’ served as a testing ground for David Ayer’s ‘Suicide Squad’ to gauge audience interest in Task Force X. The television series introduced characters such as Bronze Tiger, Deadshot, and Amanda Waller before they were portrayed on the big screen.

Berlanti said, "They said to us a year and a half before they started developing Suicide Squad, 'Will you guys put [a version of] the Suicide Squad in your show? Because we want to have it as a film at some point… It also happened with Geoff [Johns] when Geoff and Andrew [Kreisberg] and I were creating Flash. They were both really huge fans of Cisco Ramon, [also known as] Vibe, and had written a Vibe comic [in 2013] to try and bring him back. They said, 'Could we please have Vibe on the show?'"

Deadshot and Amanda Waller were later killed off on the show to comply with restrictions set forth by Warner Bros., which prohibited further use of the characters on television.

‘Arrow’ is an action-drama television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kresiberg for The CW. Season 5 is scheduled to premiere on October 5, 2016.