A number of heroes have come and gone from Arrow over the years, some more permanently than others. When Roy Harper departed as a regular back in Season 3, he did so after claiming to be the Green Arrow and then faking his own death to take the heat off of Oliver. He did manage to return in Season 4 for a one-off episode, but he hasn’t been seen since. Now, we have some very good news for fans of Roy as Arsenal. Actor Colton Haynes is officially reprising the role for Season 6, and he’ll be back sooner than we expected.

Colton Haynes will be back as Roy for a short arc, which will kick off with the fifteenth episode of Season 6. Arrow executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle revealed the return of Roy in a statement, which teased that he’ll be called to Star City to lend a hand in resolving a high-stakes matter that is quite urgent for all involved. What was meant to be a short visit will take a surprising twist courtesy of his reunion with longtime lady love Thea. The reunion will result in a change in their lives, and the repercussions won’t be resolved too quickly, if at all.

The return of Roy has been rumored for a while, with social media teases courtesy of Colton Haynes and Stephen Amell. Roy and Thea had a very emotional farewell back in Season 4, when they both expressed the wish that they could have a happily-ever-after with a family together. Thea did not run off with Roy at that point, but I have to wonder if perhaps that will change when Roy comes back in Season 6. Thea has had a difficult time in Star City, even giving up her role on Team Arrow as Speedy. The whole coma thing after the Season 5 cliffhanger couldn’t have been easy. Reuniting with Roy could motivate her to make a big change all for herself and run away with him.

Admittedly, she has embraced her role as an aunt wholeheartedly with William in the mix, and it’s a bit difficult to imagine Thea thoroughly giving up her life in Star City to start what will basically be a fugitive life alongside a man who’s technically supposed to be dead. Still, the girl deserves to be happy, and Roy makes her happy. He deserves happiness of his own, and I can’t really think of a better way for him to depart Arrow yet again than with Thea. Willa Holland has been notably absent from most of Season 6; perhaps she’s looking to leave the series. At least sending Thea off with Roy would mean that she wouldn’t have to be killed off or stuck into yet another coma, and they could always come back to visit.

We’ll have to wait and see. I’ve been missing Roy ever since Team Arrow began adding non-Roy members, and I still think of him whenever I see somebody on Arrow do some flashy but entirely unnecessary parkour move. Even if Team Arrow will undoubtedly have a lot of other problems, what with the new team of villains, Samanda Watson’s FBI investigation into Oliver, and Diggle’s recovery, Roy’s return will probably be a good thing.

Arrow will return to The CW in 2018 for the second half of Season 6. Unlike Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, it will not be involved in any scheduling shuffles. Be sure to take a peek at our midseason TV premiere guide for important dates in the new year.