Arrow Season 5 Finale: Manu Bennett Calls Reports He's Returning As Deathstroke "B.S."

Stephen Amell and Marc Guggenheim both claimed that the actor was back.

Deathstroke The CW
The CW

Manu Bennett is NOT returning as Deathstroke for Arrow's Season 5 finale, at least, if you believe the actor himself - and, well, he should know.

However, star Stephen Amell and showrunner Marc Guggenheim have both tweeted that the actor is coming back, so it's difficult to tell just what the f**k is going on.

It started when Amell tweeted about Bennett's return, teasing that he needed some help to take down Prometheus in the final episode of Season 5.

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Marc Guggenheim - you know, the guys who literally runs the show - backed this up, although incorrectly saying it was the sixth season finale at first. He corrected that error, but crucially left in the bit about Bennett.

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So far so good. Bennett's Deathstroke is the series' best and most popular villain, and the door has always been open for him to return in some capacity. Time to get excited... or it was, until Bennett responded to Amell with a tweet saying "WTF?????", and then further clarifying his position:

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So, just what is going on? Deathstroke has already appeared in Season 5 already, and without Bennett in the costume, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility that this would be the case again. But for Amell and Guggenheim to both come out and say it was him sounds pretty concrete - but then so too does Bennett's denial.

Is this a monumental f**k-up, or a really weird marketing ploy (or both)?

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.