This year’s Arrowverse crossover is set to be the biggest yet, as the much-teased adaptation of the legendary comic book event “Crisis on Infinite Earths” is finally coming in the fall. We’ve known a Crisis was on the cards since the announcement at the end of 2018’s “Elseworlds,” but our excitement only got more intense when we found out that Arrow would be ending around the same time with its shortened eighth season.
So, how will season 8 feed into “Crisis” and vice versa? EP Marc Guggenheim recently shed some light on that as when asked which of the Arrowverse shows will be most affected by the crossover, the producer confirmed that it will be Arrow, teasing big consequences for the Emerald Archer before the series concludes.
“I’m tempted to say actually Arrow, and I may be a little bit biased in giving that answer but I would say if we’re able to do what we have planned, it’s pretty big consequences that come out of ‘Crisis’ for Arrow.”
Arrow fans might frown at this remark as season 8’s brief 10-episode run surely means there won’t be much time to explore these consequences. Guggenheim continued though by clarifying that the earlier episodes of the season will lead into “Crisis” while the final two will deal with the aftermath of the event.
“I know, it’s big things right before we end the show. It was interesting, you know, because of the nature of ‘Crisis’ and the nature of the ten episode order for Arrow the two projects really became linked to the extent where the build up to ‘Crisis’ really takes place in Arrow and then ‘Crisis’ has to impact the final two episodes of Arrow. It’s all connected, and I think it’s going to be connected in a way that’s satisfying to people. That’s the trick. That’s the hardest part.”
This makes sense with the end of season 7’s finale, in which the Monitor arrived to collect on his secret deal with Oliver in the last crossover, decreeing that the hero will die in the incoming crisis before whisking him away through a dimensional portal. It looks like season 8 will deal with the lead-in to the multiversal disaster directly, then. But will Green Arrow make it out alive? Stephen Amell has hinted that his fate might be changed, so who knows?
Arrow returns to The CW on Tuesday, October 15th. A Crisis will then follow in December.