Arrow Star Emily Bett Rickards Will Not Be A Part Of The 8th And Final Season

Emily Bett Rickards is stepping away from Arrow ahead of the show’s final season. The Arrow star took to social media over weekend and confirmed that she is leaving the superhero drama before Season 8.

“Felicity and I are a very tight two,” Rickards shared on Instagram. “But after one through seven we will be saying goodbye to you.”

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Rickards’ surprising announcement comes after Arrow star Stephen Amell revealed that Season 8 will be his last as the Green Arrow. The final season of The CW’s flagship superhero series will only be 10 episodes in length, which is slightly less than half what the show averaged over the years.

According to The Wrap, executive producers Beth Schwartz and Greg Berlanti opened up about Rickards’ departure following her announcement. The producers praised Rickards for her hard work over the years and admitted that they are heartbroken to see her go. They also wished her well in her future endeavors.

Beginning in 2012, Arrow spawned an entire universe of superhero dramas on The CW known as the Arrow-verse. The network now has four shows related to Arrow, including The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. The CW is also getting ready to launch a fifth spin-off, Batwoman, which has yet to be picked up for a complete season.

Rickards was originally a guest star on Arrow before she was upgraded to a regular in Season 2. Since then, her character, Felicity Smoak, has become a driving force on the show. After finally tying the knot with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), we just learned that Felicity is pregnant with Oliver’s child.

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We also know that Felicity will have a daughter, Mia (Kat McNamara), and is alive in 2040. Beyond that, it is unclear how the series plans to wrap up her storyline going into Season 8.

Apart from Emily Bett Rickards and Stephen Amell, the series stars David Ramsey, Katie Cassidy, Echo Kellum, Juliana Harkavy, Rick Gonzalez, Colton Haynes, Sea Shimooka, and Kirk Acevedo.

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New episodes of Arrow air Monday nights on The CW.

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