'Arrow' Season 4 to Introduce White Canary Before 'Legends'

The moment DC’s Legends of Tomorrow entered development, Arrow fans scratched their heads at the inclusion of Caity Lotz’s (then-deceased) Sara Lance, before it became official that a Lazarus Pit would give birth to the “White Canary.” Now, we’ve learned that Arrow Season 4 will deal directly with Sara’s return first, building to a crossover event that leads into Legends of Tomorrow.

While Arrow and Flash producers confirmed at Comic-Con 2015 that early episodes of either new season would perform some table-setting for Legends of Tomorrow’s 2016 premiere, E! News confirmed that the first episodes of Arrow Season 4 will incorporate the Canary’s return. Says executive producer and co-showrunner Marc Guggenheim:

The White Canary will be launched in the first few episodes of Arrow. 4x08, our typical crossover episode, will be doing a lot of heavy-lifting in terms of getting the Legends of Tomorrow characters set up and also seeing where they are with relation to The Flash. It’s a big episode.

Oliver seemed notably nonplussed by lost former love Sara’s presence in the initial Legends of Tomorrow trailer, though the footage was meant more as a concept teaser, as evidenced by Oliver’s old suit and unexplained return to Star City. Still, one wonders what in-canon effect Sara’s return would have on Oliver, or newly-cemented love interest Felicity, given all the good times seemingly shared between the two off-season:

Thus far of Arrow Season 4, we know the fourth year is expected to somewhat creatively revamp the series after its Season 3 finale saw Oliver retiring the vigilante lifestyle, at least with his current costume. In addition to a focus on DC villains H.I.V.E. and Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), Season 4 will also introduce Echo Kellum’s Mr. Terrific, and Alexander Calvert’s Anarky, and may feature flashbacks set in Green Lantern’s hometown of Coast City. Apart from Wendy Mericle’s elevation to co-showrunner alongside Marc Guggenheim, we also know that Punisher: War Zone director Lexi Alexander will helm an episode.

Meanwhile, set for 15 episodes (to start), thus far we know Legends of Tomorrow to include among its cast Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber), Jay Jackson (Franz Drameh), Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee), Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell), Caity Lotz, and time-traveler Rip Hunter (Doctor Who alum Arthur Darvill).

We’ll surely see more of Arrow Season 4 as production gears up in Vancouver, but how much of the early episodes will focus on setting up Legends of Tomorrow? Could Sara’s return have a bigger impact on Oliver in the long run?

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