Arrow's Echo Kellum says Mr. Terrific's surprise Arrowverse exit 'isn’t the end'

As caught-up Arrow fans now already know, The CW show just lost one of its heroes — but perhaps not forever. Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific (Echo Kellum) departed the series last night although, according to an interview with EW, the door is still open for his return down the line.

“I love working with Echo, who is an absolute delight and joy,” Schwartz said. “Echo has always brought humor and heart to Arrow. Curtis is such a fun character to write for and he’ll be greatly missed. We haven’t seen the last of Mr. Terrific.” Holt may have been written off — to D.C. for a new job developing new tech to save lives — but Kellum’s motivation for stepping back was similar to that of Andrew Lincoln, the genre star that just departed The Walking Dead.

“I had a conversation with [then-showrunner] Marc Guggenheim in Season 6,” Kellum said. “It was my idea. I have kids — I have a 12-year-old — and it was just starting to feel like I should be back home more.” While the actor loves the show, he admits that he’s looking to move in a new direction. “But I think for me, it just boiled down to family, and also I just wanted to try a couple of creative ventures in my life,” he said. “I’m working on music, directing, and writing now. I still love acting, but it’s something I’m not looking at as the top thing of my career anymore. I’m looking at my career in a different light.”

Even in that different light, Mr. Terrific still exists. “What I will say, this isn’t the end of Curtis,” Kellum confirmed. “I’ll definitely come back as much as they want me back, and visit and guest-star and whatnot. So, it’s not the end of him.” With the support of the creative team backing these Arrowverse departures, it means that fan-favorite heroes are able to evolve and change with dignity — something that adds to the storytelling rather than takes away.

While neither the show’s team or Kellum can say when exactly Mr. Terrific will once again grace our screens, the latter did show enthusiasm for the yearly crossover event between Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl — and that always gets so downright strange that anything could happen. An old friend from D.C. showing up would be the least of the big twists.