7 Arrowverse Icons the DCU Needs to Bring Back Now

DC Studios hit the reset button, but James Gunn and Peter Safran didn’t toss out everything that worked. John Cena marched straight into the new timeline as Peacemaker (11th Street Kids in tow), Viola Davis is still the wall as Amanda Waller with her own series cooking, and Xolo Mariduena’s Blue Beetle is getting an animated show meant to lay down what from his movie officially counts. Point is: if a performer nails a role, Gunn and Safran are clearly fine carrying them over.

Which brings us to the Arrowverse. Starting with Arrow in 2012 and sprawling across The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Black Lightning — capped by the giant Crisis on Infinite Earths event that mashed decades of DC film and TV into one multiverse — the CW run racked up 700-plus episodes and a pile of memorable takes on classic characters. Not perfect, sure, but it produced a deep bench of actors who already speak fluent DC. And with Gunn’s Superman introducing a stack of heroes alongside David Corenswet’s Clark (plus a cheeky Martian Manhunter nod) and feeling more like a crossover launchpad than a solo movie, this is the moment to poach the best of that roster.

Seven Arrowverse performances that would slide right into the DCU

1. David Harewood as J'on J'onzz / Martian Manhunter

   Across six seasons of Supergirl, Harewood played J’on as a grieving refugee who channeled loss into protecting his adoptive home. The character’s been a Justice League cornerstone since 1955 — shape-shifting, telepathy, the works — and any shared universe feels incomplete without him. Gunn’s Superman already hid a wink to Martian Manhunter, and with that movie stacking heroes, the door’s open. Harewood has said he’d happily come back; after six seasons, he’s already done the hard part.

2. Matt Ryan as John Constantine

   Ryan survived NBC’s short-lived Constantine, slid into the Arrowverse, then kept chain-smoking his way through multiple DC animated films. His world-weary con-man magician (born in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing) is the version a lot of fans default to now. DC’s supernatural lane is about to heat up — James Mangold is still developing Swamp Thing, and Zatanna’s nightclub signage has even popped up on Clayface set sightings — so if we’re taking a tour of the darker corners, Ryan’s Constantine is the perfect guide.

3. Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary

   Introduced on Arrow Season 2 as a presumed-dead League of Assassins alum, Lotz went on to captain Legends of Tomorrow’s time-hopping chaos for seven seasons. White Canary isn’t a legacy headliner from the comics, but Lotz turned Sara into a rock-solid leader who can crack a joke, run point, and throw down whether it’s street-level crime or cosmic nonsense. That hybrid skill set is exactly how the DCU is being built right now.

4. Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom

   Routh’s Ray started as a guest on Arrow Season 3, became a Legends regular, and said goodbye in a 2022 episode of The Flash. He also did double duty during Crisis on Infinite Earths, suiting up as the Atom and revisiting Superman — the cape he first wore in 2006’s Superman Returns. In the comics, the Atom’s been Justice League material since the Silver Age, and Routh played Ray’s brainy optimism with a sincerity that cut through the CW snark. DC Studios hasn’t announced any Atom plans, but if they want one, Routh’s ready-made.

5. Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow

   Eight seasons, 170 episodes (2012–2020). Arrow built the house the rest of the franchise lived in, and Amell’s take is still the most widely known Green Arrow on screen. Peacemaker Season 1 took a cheap shot at GA, and Gunn addressed it later, clarifying the character’s current DCU status on the show’s official podcast in 2025:

   I’m not willing to say yet whether Green Arrow is canon to the DCU… we don’t have Green Arrow as part of our system right now.

   Translation: not today, maybe tomorrow. The DCU keeps adding vigilantes project by project; it’s hard to imagine a long-term plan that doesn’t involve a bow and a smug quip. Amell has the profile and, more importantly, the reps to carry Oliver into theaters.

6. Tom Cavanagh as Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash

   Cavanagh played Thawne across nine seasons of The Flash, plus a small army of Harrison Wells variants and even the cosmic figure Pariah. Season 1 — where Thawne murdered Barry’s mom, then hid in plain sight as the hero’s mentor while quietly engineering every major heartbreak — is still the series’ high-water mark. Reverse-Flash is a walking paradox who lives outside linear time, so continuity headaches aren’t a problem. In print he’s one of DC’s pettiest, most relentless nemeses; Cavanagh nailed that energy. He also directed several episodes, which doesn’t hurt if DC Studios wants actors who understand the machine from both sides of the camera.

7. Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / The Flash

   The Arrowverse’s emotional center for nearly a decade, Gustin logged more hours in the suit than anyone. He first popped up in two Arrow Season 2 episodes; the spin-off then premiered to the CW’s highest ratings ever and ran 184 episodes. Not the first live-action speedster, but he’s made Barry the version to beat. Asked at Fan Expo Denver in 2024 what DCU role he’d take if Gunn called, Gustin didn’t overthink it:

   Flash.

   Gunn has said the Flash will "exist eventually" in the DCU, but "not for at least two years," which means the role is open. If you’re still deciding who wears the lightning, ignoring a proven lead with that resume seems… unwise.

Big picture: Gunn and Safran have already cherry-picked talent that fits, and the Arrowverse produced a lot of it. With Peacemaker thriving, Waller on deck, and Blue Beetle about to define what carries over, don’t be shocked if one (or more) of the names above shows up sooner than later.

Who would you bring over first — and where would you drop them in? Tell me below.