Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen and the following principal cast members have returned from previous seasons: David Ramsey as John Diggle, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt, Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez, Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake, and Katie Cassidy Rodgers as Laurel Lance.

They are joined by Kirk Acevedo as Ricardo Diaz, who was promoted to a series regular from his recurring status in the previous season, and new cast member Sea Shimooka.

However, Emiko is revealed to be the leader of the Ninth Circle, a terrorist group that begins launching several attacks upon Star City, and is seeking to destroy Oliver's legacy as the Green Arrow ever since she was raised by them.

The season features flash-forwards twenty years into the future to Oliver's now adult son William (Ben Lewis) who seeks out Roy Harper on Lian Yu where they discover instructions left by Felicity leading them back to Star City.

There they discover more secrets, including Oliver and Felicity's hidden daughter Mia (Katherine McNamara) while they work to save the city from another attack by Galaxy One and the security program Archer.

Meanwhile, Laurel Lance and Dinah are forced to put their feud aside and work together, while Oliver tries to get rid of a prison guard in exchange for info on Diaz from Brick.

In Star City, Dinah arrests Rene when she learns that he is providing support to the new Green Arrow but, when the vigilante saves Zoe Ramirez's life, she has a change of heart.

At Star City Police Department (SCPD), Laurel orchestrates a deal which will see Oliver walk out of prison in exchange for helping the FBI with their case against Diaz.

Diggle and Lyla connect the Dante painting and the Zürich finances to an individual who has a transaction history with multiple terrorist cells, including both the Longbow Hunters and Diaz.

With some assistance from Oliver and Barry's teams, they break in to confront Deegan and retrieve the book he used to rewrite reality, only for the doctor to escape by causing a mass breakout.

oversight, Diggle and Lyla restore the Suicide Squad as the Ghost Initiative, recruiting Diaz as its first member and implanting an explosive into his neck to ensure his compliance in tracking down terrorist financier Dante.

William returns from witness protection and tells Felicity he was expelled from school, while Oliver debates Mayor Pollard about vigilantism but is interrupted by Chimera.

During the operation to catch Dante, Diaz betrays the team to warn him and he escapes, killing Bell and potential client Quraci Princess Noor in the process.

Dinah, who can no longer fully perform the Canary Cry following her injury, decides to return to the field as part of the task force.

Mia, William, and Connor enter the headquarters' sublevels, where they find an imprisoned Felicity who claims that the building houses the bombs to be used on Star City.

The group infiltrates a party where Mia destroys an electronic device held by Galaxy One head Keven Dale, disabling the bombs.

Team Arrow, with Curtis, Laurel, and Ben Turner, evacuates it and disables the relay to the other bombs, while Oliver confronts Emiko, pleading for her to abandon the dark path.

At the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January 2018, The CW president Mark Pedowitz said he was "optimistic" and "confident" about Arrow and the other Arrowverse shows returning next season, but added that it was too soon to announce anything just yet.

[69] In May 2018, outgoing showrunner Marc Guggenheim revealed that the Longbow Hunters, a villainous organization in DC Comics, would be teased in the sixth-season finale before being introduced in the seventh season.

This season sees its members redefining their roles and what it means to be heroes to an anti-vigilante Star City, while honoring "the sacrifice Oliver made for them.

[81] Main cast members Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Rick Gonzalez, Juliana Harkavy, and Katie Cassidy Rodgers return from previous seasons as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, John Diggle / Spartan, Felicity Smoak / Overwatch, Curtis Holt / Mr.

[86][87] On October 11, Kirk Acevedo was promoted to series regular status after previously recurring in the sixth season as main antagonist, Ricardo Diaz / Dragon.

[92] On July 21 at the series' San Diego Comic-Con 2018 panel, it was announced that the Longbow Hunters had been cast with Holly Elissa as Red Dart, Miranda Edwards as Silencer, and Michael Jonsson as Kodiak.

It was also revealed that Michael Jai White, Vinnie Jones, and Cody Runnels would additionally recur as Ben Turner, Danny Brickwell, and Derek Sampson from previous seasons.

[25] On September 21, Katherine McNamara was cast in a recurring role as Maya,[93] though her character was later revealed to be Oliver and Felicity's future daughter, Mia Smoak / Blackstar.

[102] Joseph David-Jones reprises his role as Connor Hawke from the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Star City 2046" where the character becomes the new Green Arrow in an alternate timeline.

The season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 20, 2019, its special features including the fifth annual Arrowverse crossover event titled "Elseworlds".

The site's critics consensus reads, "Arrow recovers from a creative rut by throwing Oliver Queen in the slammer and letting the series' reliable ensemble blossom into the forefront.

"[108] IGN's Jesse Schedeen wrote, "Arrow's Season 7 premiere kicks off the most significant status quo change in the series' history.

He gave the episode a rating of 7.1/10, adding, "Arrow's seventh season has a promising start, though the premiere drags whenever Oliver Queen isn't the focus.