A lot of fans were shocked when Emily Bett Rickards decided to leave her role as Felicity Smoak in Arrow Season 7 Finale. Now that the 27-year-old star has a new project, is there anyway fans would still see her back in Arrow Season 8 again?
Although the Arrowverse is expanding its world towards other universes, Team Arrow is still the center of the franchise. Felicity is one of the main members of the group, so her exit is a huge surprise for the viewers.
In Season 7 Finale, Felicity and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) were about to retire with their newborn baby Mia, but The Monitor returned to collect his debt. He forced Oliver to leave Felicity and go to a mission to save the Multiverse.
A major time jump happened to show an older Felicity. She bid her final goodbye to her children before meeting The Monitor again. Here, she stepped through a blue portal to be with Oliver, but The Monitor reminded her there would be no return to where she was going.
David Ramsey, who plays John Diggle's role, told Digital Spy the rest of the cast struggled with the "no return" scene. When they all make a comeback for Arrow Season 8 production, they find it hard not to work with Rickards again.
However, there is still a chance that fans will see Felicity in Arrow Season 8 again. In an interview with TVLine, The CW president Mark Pedowitz revealed she might be reunited with Oliver on screen.
"If Beth [Schwartz, showrunner] can find a way to bring her back that makes sense, and Emily is available, we'd love to have her," he said. There are many ways the showrunners can bring Felicity back in Arrow Season 8 without ruining her exit.
As the show often features time jumps, the final season may return to the time when everything is just about to start - Olicity's first meeting. It can also consider creating a time travel scenario or the existence of Felicity's alternate versions from other universes.
Rickards herself even teased that Felicity might return to Arrow Season 8. "[A return is] not completely up to me. Never say never," she said during her recent appearance at MCM Comic Con in London.
Deadline reported Rickards would be joining James Maslow and Lethal Weapon alum Jonathan Fernandez in the movie We Need to Talk. It is a comedy/drama indie film from the writer/director Todd Wolfe.
We Need to Talk is set to be in production soon. Arrow Season 8, on the other hand, will be out later this year on The CW.
