When it comes to playing a superhero on television there really is no better job. For Katie Cassidy, it was literally a dream come true to get to portray the iconic Black Canary on Arrow for four seasons.
While Laurel Lance met a tragic end last season on Arrow, her death was met with fan outrage and sadness at her character’s surprising end. But Laurel’s presence will forever live on in the hearts of the audience, the show, and in the actress herself.
“It was like a dream come true,” Cassidy told us of playing Black Canary. “It was such an honor to be asked to do that. The fact that the fans responded so well was such a big payoff. This part of my life is certainly something I’ll never forget. Black Canary will live on within me forever, and I’m grateful for every moment of it.”
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But the beauty about the Arrowverse is that no one is really dead – unless sadly you’re Tommy Merlyn. With the universe expanding as it has with The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, there are different elements at play that make it possible for characters that we’ve lost to return. Arrow has flashbacks, The Flash introduced dopplegangers, and Legends of Tomorrow has the ability to travel to different time periods. Basically the possibilities are endless. As well are the possibilities of Cassidy’s return.
“Black Canary will live on within me forever, and I’m grateful for every moment of it.”
Cassidy was invited to The Flash last season to portray Laurel Lance’s Earth-2 doppleganger Black Siren in the show’s penultimate episode. The hour allowed Cassidy to explore her character is an entirely new way as she went from Black Canary the hero to Black Siren the villain. But who doesn’t love to play the villain?
“Playing the villain was so fun,” she said. “Obviously it’s a different show. The Flash is lighter. It was flattering to be asked to portray Laurel on Earth-2, Black Siren.”
With Black Siren being introduced on The Flash, it allowed Laurel’s doppleganger to have a supersonic scream – a real Canary Cry – given that on that Earth she is a metahuman. We got to see an entirely different side to the character as she partnered with the villainous Zoom.
But given the last we saw of Black Siren on The Flash she was locked away in the pipeline, there’s definitely a very real possibility we’ll see her character in the future.
“Hopefully we’ll get to see more of her,” Cassidy said.
In the Arrowverse, anything is possible.
Of course the possibility of Cassidy’s return prompts our minds to wander in every which way. But one thing that we’re most excited for is the possibility of a Black Siren vs. White Canary showdown, which was brought up during Cassidy’s panel at MegaCon back in May.
Given the history between Laurel and Sara (Caity Lotz) and the deep love the sisters share, just the idea of Sara not only coming face-to-face with Laurel’s doppleganger but possibly having to fight her really gives the potential storyline so much emotion.
“I mean emotionally it would be more difficult for [Sara] to see her sister like that,” Cassidy said. “Because Laurel of Earth-1 doesn’t really have a bad bone in her body. I think she means well and has a good heart. So to see this side of her, it’s not really Laurel. It’s the antithesis.”
But it’s definitely a dynamic that Cassidy would love to explore.
“I think it would be awesome and amazing and such a cool dynamic,” she said. “Just create more story for Legends. It would be great.”
“Hopefully we’ll get to see more of [Black Siren].”
While Laurel’s famous for her role as Black Canary, that’s not the only thing that defined who Laurel Lance was and will continue to be known as. Laurel has always had a strong allegiance to her family, especially her father, Quentin, and sister, Sara. While things have not always been perfect throughout their history, the one thing that has never changed is how much love there is between them.
“I have sisters in real life, and they are my closest, best friends I’ve ever had,” Cassidy said. “So I understand that bond and that relationship you can have with a sibling.”
Cassidy praised Lotz and Paul Blackthorne for incredible experiences that prompted fun, love, as well as learning as they brought the complicated yet loving Lance family dynamic to life.
“As far as working with both Caity Lotz and Paul Blackthorn was and is an amazing, amazing opportunity and such an amazing learning experience,” Cassidy said. “Especially with Paul you know he’s done this for so long and his craft is similar to mine and I feel like a sponge when I’m around him because I want to soak up everything he tells me. And creating backstory and trying to fill our characters. And having it portrayed and come through on a television screen and for our fans to be able to see and feel that is a pretty amazing thing and again another reason why I’m so thankful.”
“I feel like everything they wrote was justified and made sense to me. I got to explore different levels of emotion. I had a place to go. I continuously had an interesting and evolving journey.”
Cassidy has been a significant part of Arrow since the pilot, and Laurel Lance has grown tremendously over these past four seasons. We saw Laurel rise as a hero in the light in the justice system in season one. We saw Laurel struggle with addiction in season two and rise up from that hardship. We saw Laurel deal with losing her sister, Sara, again and dedicate herself to honoring her sister’s memory as a different Canary. And we saw Laurel come full-circle as Black Canary in season four. Simply said, Laurel has had quite an emotional and significant journey.
“I think as an actor, the writers they wrote for me from season one to the end of season four, I had an amazing arc,” Cassidy said. “I feel like everything they wrote was justified and made sense to me. I got to explore different levels of emotion. I had a place to go. I continuously had an interesting and evolving journey. As an actor on a show it’s all you can ask for. Again I am just so thankful.”
