In a surprise return, Katie Cassidy will be a series regular once more in Arrow 6.
Cassidy, however, will not be playing the late Laurel Lance, who was killed by Damien Darhk in season 4. Instead, she will reprise her role as Black Siren, Laurel’s Earth-2 doppelganger who is also a metahuman.
Cassidy will appear in the final two episodes of season 5 before becoming a series regular in season 6.
Black Siren debuted as an ally of the evil speedster Zoom. Later, she was recruited by Prometheus, who released her from her captivity at S.T.A.R. Labs and brought her to Star City. After her defeat, she was imprisoned at A.R.G.U.S.
“One of the things that most excites us about Arrow is that we go where the story takes us,” said Arrow showrunner Marc Guggenheim in a statement. “Last year, the story took us to the tragic death of Laurel Lance. This year, our midseason finale reintroduced us to Laurel’s doppelgänger, Black Siren.
“We were so taken by Katie’s fearless interpretation of this character that we knew her story was not yet finished. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Katie back to Arrow as Black Siren, though as her appearances on Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow this season show, she never really left the family.”