Family Over Franchise: Why Mister Terrific Star Said Goodbye To DC

Back when the CW Arrowverse was doing numbers and the early DCEU was still figuring itself out, Arrow was the show everyone had an opinion about. Right in the middle of that run, Echo Kellum — Curtis Holt, aka Mister Terrific — stepped off the ride. Here’s why he left, what he added while he was there, and how his character is suddenly a big deal again in James Gunn’s DCU.

Why Echo Kellum walked away

Kellum didn’t bail because of drama. He chose family and some new creative paths over staying on a hit series. He said it himself, and yeah, it stung a little:

"So all of this has been very bittersweet because I actually feel very crestfallen, because it’s so tough to leave such an amazing show. 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."

That tracks with how his exit was written: less scandal, more grown-up choice.

What he brought to Arrow

Kellum was on the show for nearly four seasons, and while Curtis wasn’t the city-saving archer on the posters, he was the heart-and-tech backbone of Team Arrow and a genuine on-ramp for Mister Terrific as a mainstream hero.

• Season 4: Curtis shows up as a brilliant, upbeat tech guy — comic relief with actual gadgets that help keep Team Arrow alive.
• Season 5: He steps up, officially joins the vigilante squad, and starts shaping a superhero persona.
• Season 6: Full Mister Terrific mode — T-Spheres from the comics, plus the formation of the New Team Arrow.
• Season 7: Exit arc. Curtis chooses a safer, steadier life after personal struggles instead of constant battlefield chaos.

Fans liked him for a reason: he brought humor, heart, and gadget-forward heroics, and he made Mister Terrific a name you didn’t have to be a DC diehard to recognize.

The handoff to the DCU

Fast-forward to the new DCU: Edi Gathegi is now carrying the Mister Terrific mantle in James Gunn’s Superman. Audiences have gotten a fresh taste of the character on the big stage, which, let’s be honest, is partly thanks to Arrow laying the groundwork. It’s a little inside baseball, but TV absolutely primed the pump here.

So... a Mister Terrific show next?

Fans have been asking Gunn and DC Studios to give the character a TV run after Superman. Gunn isn’t exactly shy about liking the guy’s potential. On Phase Hero: A Film & TV Podcast, he put it pretty plainly:

"I’ve got major plans for Mister Terrific. Yeah, definitely it influences things. I don’t know, you’re going around the planet, you’re drilling for oil, and every once in a while you get a geyser, and you know Mr. Terrific is a geyser. He’s very popular. When I see that sort of stuff, it makes a difference to me."

Translation: the character pops, and that matters when you’re mapping out a franchise. If DC Studios announces a solo Mister Terrific series, don’t act surprised.

Quick Arrow refresher

Arrow ran 8 seasons, with Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Beth Schwartz steering at various points. The core cast included Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, and Emily Bett Rickards. It sits at a 7.5/10 on IMDb, and if you want to revisit Curtis Holt’s run, Arrow is streaming on Netflix in the US.