John Barrowman Cancels Panel At Montreal Comic-Con After Receiving Threat To His Safety

One of the biggest names in the television branch of the DC Extended Universe is that of Malcolm Meryln/Dark Archer, who is played by John Barrowman on The CW’s Arrow. He was just recently promoted to a series regular across all DC Comics/The CW shows, and he’s making the media rounds to celebrate it, but one won’t be happening. Barrowman had to cancel a panel at the Montreal Comic-Con due to receiving a threat against his safety.

Yes, Barrowman was set to appear on a panel and for a photo opportunity at the 2016 Montreal Comic-Con this weekend. He was going to take part in both Saturday and Sunday, but those events had to be cancelled due to the threat made against his safety.

On Saturday afternoon, the regretful, but necessary, decision was posted on his John Barrowman’s official Facebook page.

“This morning an email was sent that directly referenced me and In light of recent events, I’ve decided to take the advice of my management and family as they were concerned for my safety. We are working with the convention to arrange for security that not only keeps me safe but also all of you who come to see me. I’m really sorry I have had to cancel my panel and photo ops this weekend. I will be signing later today once security has been arranged. Please check with the promoter and social media for updates on where and when I will be signing.”

It’s quite sad that it had to come to this, but no-one can blame Barrowman for cancelling his appearance. With the way things have been going around the world and around lately, all threats should be taken seriously and that was what needed to be done here.

The cancellation of his panel/photo-op at the Montreal Comic-Con comes just one day after it was announced he would appear regularly on all the DC Comics shows on The CW. As reported by Nerdist, that means he won’t just appear on Arrow, but also on The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Don’t look for him on Supergirl as the deal is for shows executive-produced by Greg Berlanti.

Great news for our 42nd #SaturnAward Host #JohnBarrowman Will Now Regulary Appear on all of the #CW‘s #DC Shows!! https://t.co/rv7mi7IFvw

— Saturn Awards (@SaturnAwards1) July 9, 2016

This deal is similar to the one that Wentworth Miller received at the end of the first season of Legends of Tomorrow. Berlanti said that this type of thing helps the TV shows get even closer to the comics where there is a whole vast world for them to explore.

“What it really emulates to us is the comic books themselves, where there really are a cast of characters. In success, we hope to continue with other characters finding their way across all the shows.”

Barrowman has appeared in one episode of The Flash and it was to help set up the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow spinoff, but now, he’ll be seen much more often. Unfortunately, the fans at the Montreal Comic-Con won’t get to see him in person this weekend as they had hoped.

The comic book TV show universe has gotten absolutely huge and the majority of the people love all of the shows. It’s not like there is a problem for those that don’t as they simply don’t have to watch them, but whoever did this against John Barrowman has gone too far. His panel being cancelled at the 2016 Montreal Comic-Con is not surprising due to receiving a threat against his safety, but there was no reason for it to ever happen in the first place.

[Photo by Diyah Pera/The CW]