Justin Hartley Reveals Whether He'd Reprise Green Arrow Role After Smallville Streaming Resurgence On Netflix

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Justin Hartley as Green Arrow in Smallville

Published Mar 22, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT

An avid comic book fan since she first read "Stan Lee's Soapbox," Allison Hambrick is your friendly neighborhood generalist writer. Journalism, editing, media production, copywriting—she does it all. From her very first blog post about Smallville as a primary schooler, Allison developed a passion for superheroes and the entertainment industry at large.

Majoring in writing and film at SCAD, Allison put her skills to work writing, editing, podcasting, and more. Currently, she moonlights as an editor at the ASHRAE Journal by day and Screen Rant by night. Allison also previously worked for Warner Bros. Entertainment and for Disney.

Through her writing, she hopes to inspire, to entertain, and to empower others to be the best versions of themselves, and her mission in life is to make Stan proud. In her free time, she enjoys reading, video game design, traveling, and spending time outside with her dogs, Loki and Elphaba. Allison is fluent in movie quotes, and her favorite film is Superman II.

Smallville alum Justin Hartley has once and for all settled whether he would return to the DC Universe as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow.

Recently, Smallville has seen a resurgence in popularity after trending on Netflix, which has prompted a new wave of calls for a continuation. When asked about a possible return on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Hartley didn't hide his enthusiasm: "I would love to play a superhero again; I would love that."

Hartley had even better news for Smallville fans—he revealed the superhero he would most want to play is still Green Arrow. "You know, there are so many interesting ones that have been portrayed and there are so many interesting ones that haven't yet been portrayed," Hartley explained. "What I think would be really cool though, now that I'm older, I have different life experiences and I would approach it differently, and I think it would be a different story. I'd like to jump back into that Green Arrow suit on."

He then made one major correction: "Maybe not that exact suit, but something a little hipper." Hartley continued that the 15 years since the Smallville finale have lent him a perspective that would be valuable for a more experienced Oliver. "I think you'd find him in a different place, and you could tell different stories," the This Is Us actor said. "He's been through stuff, and I think it would be interesting. Yeah, I would love that."

Though DC Studios has yet to give it a greenlight, Rosenbaum and Welling have been working on a Smallville sequel series for several years. According to the former, Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are involved, but there is no solid timeline for when this continuation could happen. If the pitch comes to fruition, Hartley could get his wish and suit up as Green Arrow again, though whether he dons the shades is decidedly less certain.

Smallville is currently available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.

Smallville

8/10

Release Date 2001 - 2011

Directors Mike Rohl, Jeannot Szwarc, Glen Winter, Terrence O'Hara, Whitney Ransick, Mairzee Almas, Paul Shapiro, Rick Rosenthal, David Carson, James L. Conway, Chris Long, Michael Katleman, Morgan Beggs, Allison Mack, David Barrett, Marita Grabiak, Michael W. Watkins, Philip Sgriccia, Rick Wallace, Thomas J. Wright, Todd Slavkin, Brad Turner, Charles Beeson, Craig Zisk

Writers Steven S. DeKnight, Holly Henderson, Don Whitehead, Caroline Dries, Mark Verheiden, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Philip Levens, Jordan Hawley, Kenneth Biller, Michael Green, Drew Z. Greenberg, Geoff Johns, John Chisholm, Drew Landis, Julia Swift, Doris Egan, Tracy Bellomo, Garrett Lerner, Greg Walker, Russel Friend, Shintaro Shimosawa, Tim Schlattmann, todd helbing

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