Our first details on the next Arrowverse crossover have been revealed. The CW has today unveiled its schedule for the 2020/2021 season and the big news is that the network’s original programming is being held back until the new year, as a response to the coronavirus outbreak. This means four out of a potential seven DC shows will kick off in January – The Flash, Black Lightning, Batwoman and Superman & Lois.
And it’s these last two series that will form the franchise’s yearly crossover. The CW’s President and CEO Mark Pedowitz has confirmed that the next season’s big event will be a two-hour team-up between Tyler Hoechlin’s Man of Steel and Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane. Meanwhile, a bunch of other heroes from across the Arrowverse will also feature.
“We’re still working on it. It will be a smaller event than usual, we’re only planning a two-hour event. We are talking about doing Superman and Batwoman together. There’s a lot of characters coming from our other shows,” he said.
We always knew that things were going to have to be scaled down for the next crossover, as there was no way of topping “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” We’ve also already been told to expect this.
That said, the shrinking of the typically multi-night event to just one evening – it’ll air on a Sunday – is likely a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. There are enough obstacles to overcome with getting these shows made right now and it would be bonkers to add the huge strain of pulling off another “Crisis” on top of everything else.
DC fans will no doubt appreciate the concept of a Superman/Batwoman crossover though, as it apes the classic “World’s Finest” comics starring best buds Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne. Supes and Kate worked together in “Crisis,” but they didn’t have a huge amount of screentime with one another, so there’s certainly room to flesh out their partnership. Hopefully Supergirl will get involved as well, as Kara and Kate’s friendship was an instant fan favorite.