Susanna Thompson will be reprising her role as Moira Queen, Oliver Queen's mother, in some capacity for the premiere of Arrow's eighth -- and last -- season.
This revelation was made known to GreenArrowTV by Arrow co-developer Marc Guggenheim. "It's a love letter to the show; it really is," Guggenheim said of Thompson's return. "I was telling [executive producer] Beth [Schwartz], it felt a lot like the series finale, not the season premiere, in the best possible way, almost to the point where we're like, 'What are we going to do for the series finale?' I mean, we know, obviously, but it has that kind of resonance to it, and that's exciting."
Of course, in Arrow's continuity, the character of Moira has been dead for some time, having perished at the hands of Slade Wilson back in Season 2. That said, the character has made a few appearances since, often through flashbacks, visions and dream sequences.
In fact, Arrow stars whose characters have died coming back through indirect means happens fairly regularly. Take for instance, Colin Donnell's Tommy Merlin returning as a figment of an injured Oliver's imagination in Season 7.
It is unclear if Moira will return in a similar way for Season 8, or if they'll do something different entirely now that Thompson is returning to the role. At any rate, Arrow's cast and crew seem excited to play the hits, so to speak, as the long-running DC series gears up for its final go-round.
Returning Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, Arrow stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog, Juliana Harkavy as Black Canary, Katie Cassidy as Black Siren, Katherine McNamara as Mia Smoak, Joseph David-Jones as Connor Hawke and Ben Lewis as William Clayton-Queen.