Stephen Amell fights back tears during his last Comic-Con with the cast of Arrow as superhero show gets ready to wrap after upcoming eighth season

By KEVIN KAYHART

Published: | Updated:

With Arrow set to wrap up after the upcoming eighth and final season, the cast of the superhero television series hit Comic-Con in San Diego for the final time on Saturday. 

And it turned out to be an emotional last swansong, especially for the show's star, Stephen Amell, who portrays Oliver Queen, aka, Green Arrow.

He visibly struggled to hold back tears when the crowd greeted him with a roar of cheers and while his fellow cast members took turns paying tribute to him.

Final goodbye: Stephen Amell got emotional when he and his Arrow cast mates attended a panel at Comic-Con to promote the upcoming eighth and final season

Final goodbye: Stephen Amell got emotional when he and his Arrow cast mates attended a panel at Comic-Con to promote the upcoming eighth and final season

Along with Amell, the panel featured Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance), David Ramsey (John Diggle), Juliana Harkavy (Dinah Drake), and Rick Gonzalez (Rene Ramirez). 

Also on stage was showrunner Marc Guggenheim and director and former fight coordinator James 'Bam' Bamford, 

There was also appearances by Melissa Benoist (Kara Zor-El, Supergirl), Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers, Supergirl) and Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/The Atom).  

'This show doesn’t exist without him,' Cassidy said, as reported by Deadline. ' I'm so proud of him and so impressed with him.'

Adding to the praise, Harkavy called him 'a true leader,' before he started getting misty-eyed, himself. 

Misty-eyed: Amell, who portrays Oliver Queen, aka, Green Arrow, and some of his cast mates fought back tears during the Q-and-A panel a number of times

Misty-eyed: Amell, who portrays Oliver Queen, aka, Green Arrow, and some of his cast mates fought back tears during the Q-and-A panel a number of times

Sweet: Kaite Cassidy, Rick Gonzalez and the others on the panel paid tribute to Amell

Sweet: Kaite Cassidy, Rick Gonzalez and the others on the panel paid tribute to Amell

Emotional: The 36-year-old actor was humbled by the reaction of the fans and his colleagues

Emotional: The 36-year-old actor was humbled by the reaction of the fans and his colleagues

'Last night was super emotional,' Stephen told ET at the event. '

'It actually caught me off guard, the number of people who came up [to me.] The director of Supergirl took like five minutes to thank me – which feels weird – for getting their break on Arrow.'   

'It feels great,' he added about the upcoming season. 

'I think that [for] the cast and the crew, it's starting to feel a teensy bit like a victory lap. It feels awesome … I was about to drop an F-bomb, but it feels awesome!' 

Ramsay agreed that the final season has the feel of 'a tribute' to the show's history. 

'There's a lot of stuff from the past. There'll be some old faces that will show up. And I think, in terms of the pacing, it's changed because we usually do this in 22 episodes, and now we’re doing it in 10, so it's going to have the sense of a movie every time you watch an episode.' 

Cassidy, who's playing double-duty as director of episode three, also described the last season to being 'cinematic' and 'huge.'

'It actually caught me off guard, the number of people who came up to me,' Amell confessed about all the positive reaction he has gotten

'It actually caught me off guard, the number of people who came up to me,' Amell confessed about all the positive reaction he has gotten 

End of an era: The final season has the feel of 'a tribute' to the show's history

End of an era: The final season has the feel of 'a tribute' to the show's history

Paying tribute: There was also appearances by Melissa Benoist (Kara Zor-El, Supergirl) and Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers, Supergirl)

Paying tribute: There was also appearances by Melissa Benoist (Kara Zor-El, Supergirl) and Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers, Supergirl)

Adding to all the drama in the last go-around, Charlie Barnett will join the cast as John Diggle, Jr. 

Diggle, Jr. — known as J.J. — is the Flashpoint-born son of John Diggle (Ramsey) and Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson). Fans meet J.J. in the future as the leader of the Deathstroke Gang, where he faces off against Mia and his adopted brother, Connor. 

Barnett joins previously announced new series regulars Katherine McNamara, Joseph David-Jones and Ben Lewis as Mia Smoak, Connor Hawke and Oliver Queen’s adopted son, William Clayton, respectively. 

The final ten episodes, which premieres on October 15 on The CW, will contribute to the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' crossover event.        

I'm back! Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/The Atom) was also on hand to promote season eight

I'm back! Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/The Atom) was also on hand to promote season eight

Fan friendly: Amell took time to chat with a number of fans

Fan friendly: Amell took time to chat with a number of fans

The last hurrah! The final ten episodes, which premieres on October 15 on The CW, will contribute to the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' crossover event

The last hurrah! The final ten episodes, which premieres on October 15 on The CW, will contribute to the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' crossover event

Stephen Amell

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