Arrow cast tease final season, Kingdom Come Superman in Crisis event

The show that started it all is coming to an end this season, but the cast and crew of Arrow promise the series will be going out in style this fall. So, what can fans expect for that final, shortened season and the Crisis crossover? More future stories, and possibly some nods to the icomic comic Kingdom Come, plus a whole lot more.

The cast and crew chimed in to give fans an update on how the final season is progressing, as the story prepares to pick up with Oliver (Stephen Amell) hitting the road with The Monitor to start prepping for Crisis on Infinite Earths. The rest of the team is seemingly left behind to keep Star City together, while the flash forward storyline also looks to continue with Oliver and Felicity’s adult daughter Mia helping save a collapsed, future version of Star City with her own team. The cast of Arrow has made plenty of SDCC appearances over the years, but pulled out all the stops for their final turn in San Diego.

Producer Marc Guggenheim opened up about the decision to end the series this fall, and said it all comes down to allowing the seires to go out while it's still relevant and loved by fans, as opposed to sticking around too long and becoming something the OG Arrow fans wouldn't recognize.

"We all want to leave the party while the party’s still going. People are still talking about the series," he said. "Now’s the time. There’s logistical and budgetary and other limitations you face dealing with an eighth season of a show... but we want to go out while the show is still the show. We don’t want to turn it into something 'less than' just to keep it going."

Looking ahead to the final season, Guggenheim confirmed they have cast Diggle's adult son J.J., who will be featured in the flash-forwards. He will be played by Russian Doll breakout Charlie Barnett. We already met Diggle's adopted son in the future, Connor Hawke, last season — but now Diggle's other youngster will show up in the future storyline. Guggenheim promised his reveal will be a true surprise to fans, and yes, he will suit up.

Check out the sizzle reel for the final season below:

"People will be really surprised about the way we bring him in, and especially the costume he wears," he said. "He wears a very specific costume that is not something fans will be expecting."

Guggenheim also addressed the recent news that Legends of Tomorrow star Brandon Routh will be playing a version of Superman in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event — which prompted Routh himself to crash the panel to wild applause from the crowd. They won't be able to use the exact costume, since it's in the Warner Bros. archive, but Routh popped a few buttons on his shirt to reveal the Kingdom Come-era Superman logo on his shirt. So... might we get a dose of the Kingdom Come-verse out there in the multiverse when all these worlds collide?

"Brandon is going to play Superman in the crossover, but also Ray Palmer. We're incredibly excited, it's going to be really, really awesome," Guggenheim said. "The whole goal with the crossover is we try to come up with 100 great things to do, and if we only get to do 50, then we got to do 50 great things."

Producer James Bamford came to San Diego straight from shooting on Arrow's eighth season, and tease it's some of the most ambitious action they've ever attemped in the show's history.

"If they don't win an Emmy for what we've done this week, every one of these people on this cast, there's something wrong," Bamford said. "I've never been more impressed with the performances we've been getting during the action, during the emotional scenes. Just the size and the scope of what we're doing now is nothing like what we've done before. We're very, very proud and I can't wait for you to see it."

The studio also dropped a sizzle reel setting up the final season, looking back at iconic moments from the entire series' run. It ended with a few brief snippets of footage from the final season, showing returning cast members Colin Donnell (Tommy Merlyn) and Josh Segarra (Adrian Chase) back in action, as Oliver takes on one final mission.

The cast also took some time to enjoy a victory lapse of sorts, with the cast talking about their love for the show and Amell's dedication. Harkavy was almost in tears, while Katie Cassidy said she was "so proud" of Amell's tenure with this character. David Ramsey likened Amell's ripped abs and muscles to his dedication to the role, saying he credits Amell with the modern superhero TV revolution: "There would not be any television universe on TV, not just DC, on television after Smallville. If not for Stephen Amell." The panel ended with the core cast taking one, final bow before a cheering Ballroom 20 at Comic-Con.

Arrow is back for its final season on The CW this fall.

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