Arrow Revisited Featuring Katie Cassidy and Colton Haynes | Wizard World Chicago

Without a doubt, Oliver Queen was the number one archer in Star City. But without his team, how much less of an impact would he have made? Short of Laurel Lance played by Katie Cassidy and Roy Harper played by Colton Haynes, it is very likely our favorite vigilante may have never hit legendary status.

All of the top Arrow fans know and understand this, and they came out to Wizard World Chicago to show support for these two wonderful actors who added action, drama, and laughs to the show that kicked off an entire television universe.

As the audience clamored for their seats, Katie Cassidy and Colton Haynes took the stage with warm smiles and excitement to speak to their fans. The moderator quickly launched into questions ranging from personal hobbies to emotional goodbyes and everything in-between.

Before starting on Arrow, the moderator was excited to learn about the recently announced Teen Wolf movie. Of course, the first question had to be if Colton Haynes is going to star in it. “I know they have contacted us all, and I know they are working on contracts now,” Haynes said.

Breaking from the topic, Haynes described the story of first meeting Katie Cassidy. “Fun fact, Katie and I met on Melrose Place. I played a drug-addicted young star, and Katie played my publicist. Then we got to do Arrow.”

This is when the panel took a direct turn towards the show that has made them both stars.

The moderator asked Katie Cassidy what it was like encompassing a character over multiple shows. “I’m just honestly grateful to have gotten the chance to play someone who had such an impact. I met some amazing actors, Colton being one of them.”

“To wake up ten months out of the year and to see these people every morning, to create with them something fun and well done, I just have a lot of gratitude for it,” Cassidy admitted before turning the question over to Haynes.

Haynes explained, “I was just supposed to be on three episodes. It was so much fun. It feels like it was ten years ago.”

Continuing, the moderator asked what the two did throughout lockdown.

Cassidy went first saying, “I wrote a pilot. Stay tuned because it is a bit away. I ended up writing something dark, but cathartic.”

Haynes told the audience, “I sold a show — it’s a long story. It is in limbo now, but it was fun being part of the process.”

“Something is coming out next year,” he added. “Let me tell you, being stuck at home, living in your past situation, and trying to turn it into something is very stressful. It’s been two years of a lot of work, but I’m happy to be done in a couple of days.”

“You’ll be able to hear about it and see it probably in June,” Haynes finished.

At some point, the moderator turned the panel over to the fans so that they could question the stars as well. One audience member asked about Hayne’s music career and whether or not he is going to put out an album. 

“When I left Arrow, I moved to Nashville because I got a publishing deal with one of the big publishing companies. I legitimately thought I was going to go into country music. Then I realized I’d have to try and be a country star.”

Could you imagine,” he asked the crowd, “I’d be the lone gay county star!”

The next question was strictly for Cassidy, as a fan wondered aloud what it was like transitioning from Earth 1 Laurel to Earth 2 Laurel. Cassidy responded, “It was actually really quite easy for me.”

“I was really upset that they killed me off. Earth 1 Laurel, as much as I loved her, she cried a lot. She had a lot of emotions all of the time, which was great,” Cassidy explained.

“The Flash is lighter than Arrow, so I wanted to flip it on its head, play against the dialogue, and have fun with it,” she continued.

Addressing the entire room, Cassidy said, “Thank you so much because you basically brought me back from the dead. You loved my performance on The Flash, so Arrow wanted me back. I was very happy to see my family again.”

Eventually, someone pointed out the elephant in the room asking about Green Arrow and the Canaries. Cassidy described what she wanted to see explored in the potential spin-off.

“We never really got to explore Earth 2 Laurel’s backstory. You never really got to see her world.”

This train of thought then expanded into different characters the stars would have liked to have played within the Arrowverse. Cassidy immediately announced, “Catwoman. I think Catwoman should have her own show starring myself — start that rumor.”

Haynes admitted he wasn’t as familiar with the characters but then joked, “Is there a male Harley Quinn?”

With that, the panel exploded into a discussion about all the possibilities in the multiverse, from crossovers and team-ups to epic battles and stand-offs. There is no telling what these wonderful actors could have up their sleeves and what characters they could encompass. 

That is the beauty of a superhero show. A person can pop up at any given time and play an alternate version of themselves with only a line of dialogue for an explanation. The chances are, we will love it and love the actors for it as well.

—

Catch all of the Arrowerse shows airing throughout the week on The CW or on The CW App.

Be sure to read all of our coverage on Wizard World Chicago! Find out more about Wizard World here.

Mark Sheppard Discusses ‘Supernatural,’ ‘Doom Patrol,’ and ‘Doctor Who’ | Wizard World Chicago