Will There Be An Arrowverse Crossover After Crisis?
While The CW airs an unexpected hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is re-broadcasting “Crisis on Infinite Earths“, this week. Eagerly anticipated in the Arrowverse, the five-part yearly crossover event adapted the iconic comic book storyline. The tease in The Flash series premiere of a “red skies” crisis event that the speedster would vanish in had everyone hooked. FollowiAfter its first broadcast, “Crisis” thrilled fans. Moreover, a brand-new Arrowverse reality raised one significant question: how would they beat this in the next crossover? Now that the pandemic has unleashed havoc on the entertainment industry, a different question arises: will there even be a crossover this fall?
COVID-19 Crisis results in Delay for “Crisis”?
With COVID-19 pandemic literally changing things every day, the most honest answer to that question is no one knows. In mid-March, just before things changed so exponentially for the entertainment industry and the world, Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim got us all excited. He revealed on social media that he already knew what the next crossover will be. At that time, it was expected to take place in late November or early December 2020. However, shortly afterwards, The CW stopped the production on The Flash due to hazards linked with the coronavirus pandemic. The other Arrowverse shows soon followed. Now, what was thought by many to be a precautionary two-week suspension is now an indefinite one.
This indefinite reality of the halt in production may be the deciding factor for the next crossover. We don’t really know what each of the Arrowverse shows had left to finish in their current seasons. If the shows have to forgo a proper season finale, it could instigate retooling of things as new seasons come. And this will happen only when production does, ultimately, resume. In terms of story, this could have an influence on the crossover itself.
Production Of Arrowverse shows Delayed!
We actually don’t know when production will continue at all. When will it be safe for things to return to some resemblance of “normal” in terms of COVID-19? There are several opinions about it. However, there are also real concerns about a new wave of infections later this year, indicating another round of quarantine and shutdowns. If the world continues to remain in a standstill or if there are more shutdowns, almost certainly, there will be a delay in the production of the Arrowverse shows’ next seasons. This generates its own issues as crossovers are challenging to make from a scheduling aspect.
In other words, a prolonged shutdown may not leave time for a crossover from a production perspective.
Hope For One-On-One Crossovers!
Having said that, it doesn’t mean that when the Arrowverse returns this fall, there won’t be any of crossover. The Arrowverse has done small scale crossovers pretty well. However, that’s easy to forget since it has spoilt fans with truly great, wide-ranging crossovers in the past few seasons. They could, however, instead of having all five Arrowverse shows (we’re including Black Lightning since it was formally brought in after “Crisis”) come together, maybe arrange something more one-on-one. We could see Supergirl and Batwoman get that World’s Finest team-up fans are longing for. They could also get The Flash and Black Lightning work together for an episode or two.
So, is there going to be an Arrowverse crossover this fall? Perhaps. Whichever form it eventually takes, there is one thing that’s certain! We’ll all be very happy to see our favorite heroes back on the screen, fighting for justice together.
