Unfortunately for the CW Arrow fans, they cannot use Deathstroke anymore (at least for the time being). We fans have enjoyed having Deathstroke back into the fold. Added another layer of fantastic darkness to the show. However, DC has, again, taken away access to the character, Deathstoke. In case you did not know, DC allegedly restricted access to Deathstroke before. The first time actually also included the Suicide Squad. Which led to their eventual stand alone movie.
Marc Guggenheim, executive producer for the Arrow, said at a ACE Comic Con interview, “These are DC’s characters, we’re just renting them, you know? So we use the characters that they tell us we can use when we can use them, and we work around whatever limitations are placed on us…”
This part of the quote highlights the relationship that the CW has with DC in regards to their characters. This is also why it took so long before Superman was able to be introduced into Supergirl. However, even though this is a bummer for Arrow fans because Deathstroke is such a pivotal character within the show, this might only be temporary. The show will still get by without him, the arc is just going to have to adapt to not include Deathstroke.
This can lead to questions on what DC has planned for the character. Because there has not been any official announcement, we as fans can only speculate for right now. Possibly DC is planning a Deathstroke movie? Obviously that is speculation (for now), but it is in the realm of possibility. **Justice League spoiler alert** Deathstroke does make an appearance at the end of the Justice League movie.
Most fans of the CW DC shows have accepted that the CW DC universe is in a different universe from the movies. Maybe Arrow‘s Deathstroke will come back to the available character list in the future. This things do change over time. Till then enjoy the moments we have with Manu Bennett.