Arrow’s Stephen Amell “Didn’t F-cking Appreciate” Peacemaker Jab

Arrow's Stephen Amell "Didn't F-cking Appreciate" Peacemaker Jab

As a devoted fan who has followed the journey of DC’s television universe since its inception, I must say I wholeheartedly empathize with Stephen Amell‘s sentiments. The Arrowverse, with its intricate storylines and compelling characters, has undeniably left an indelible mark on the DC Universe, yet it seems to have been overlooked or even disrespected at times by those behind the big-screen adaptations.


Actor Stephen Amell, known for his role as Green Arrow in the TV series Arrow, expressed his displeasure towards James Gunn, one of the new co-chiefs at DC Studios, during a recent podcast interview. He felt that Arrow and its characters were often disregarded by those involved in DC’s film productions, and he took particular issue with a joke made about Green Arrow in Gunn’s series Peacemaker. In one episode of the show, Peacemaker makes a jibe at Green Arrow’s expense, saying he attends Brony conventions dressed as the rear half of Twilight Sparkle, complete with a hole in the costume. This comment didn’t sit well with Amell, who played Oliver Queen/Green Arrow from 2012 to 2023 across various spinoffs.

In a playful twist, “Peacemaker” cracked several risqué jokes involving characters like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who appeared briefly during the season finale. At first, Amell stated that he hadn’t watched the episode yet, but later admitted that he had seen it and wasn’t particularly fond of it.

“That was a little unnecessary,” Amell told Chris Van Vliet on YouTube. “I didn’t f—ing appreciate that at all….Okay. I am just going to come right out and say this. There was just such…between the movies and Peacemaker a little bit, our show was kind of treated like s–t. I get it, we’re on The CW, I get it, it’s TV. But I also get the fact that when people think about the most recent iteration of DC, they don’t think about the Snyder Cut – they think about the Arrowverse. We got crapped on for years, and years, and years, and this just seemed excessive. I’m not actually mad, but I just remember hearing that and just being like, ‘F–k those guys,’ like seriously. I’m up here. I’m working just as hard as anyone else. Do you know how hard it is to play a superhero with no superpowers for 23 episodes a year? It’s really, really, really hard, and I’m not looking for a prize, but, like, maybe don’t s–t on our show.”

Initially, Amell joked about giving John Cena a hard time, but later he clarified that he doesn’t hold any grudge against the actor. Instead, he expressed his dissatisfaction towards Gunn, the writer, for penning the particular line.

John Cena is an exceptionally kind and genuine individual, whom I’ve crossed paths with on several occasions, as Amell stated. However, it’s James Gunn who deserves my ire for penning such a compliment in the first place. But rest assured, there’s no personal animosity towards John Cen- he’s just an all-around nice guy.

The term “Arrowverse” was casually coined by fans to refer to a connected DC Universe made up of live-action television shows. Starting with “Arrow,” this universe expanded to include “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Black Lightning,” and “Batwoman.” “Superman & Lois” originated from the 2020 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event series, initially fitting into the multiverse of “Arrow.” However, the series was later moved away from the common Earth where all other shows in the Arrowverse are set.

The interplay between Warner Bros.’ DC movies and the Arrowverse was often peculiar. Launched a year before ‘Man of Steel’, Arrow set the stage for two distinct live-action DC Universes that operated concurrently. As the films were the studio’s primary focus, Warner Bros. occasionally meddled with Arrowverse narratives and eliminated characters, particularly Suicide Squad members who held significant roles in Arrow. The release of ‘Justice League’ in 2017 overlapped with ‘Crisis on Earth-X’, the most acclaimed Arrowverse crossover series, causing a wave of criticism on social media as fans compared the $300 million movie unfavorably to the TV miniseries.

Fans had anticipated seeing characters from the Arrowverse in movies, particularly since Ezra Miller’s Flash appeared alongside Grant Gustin’s Flash in “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. However, this didn’t occur, as the filmmakers responsible for “The Flash” stated that integrating Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp was never a genuine option.

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2024-09-16 23:41