Although NBC’s Constantine TV show was cancelled after just one season, that didn’t mark the end of Matt Ryan’s take on the popular DC Comics character. He resurfaced towards the end of 2015 in the Arrow episode Season 4 episode “Haunted,” and then in late 2017, he started recurring in Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 and was upgraded to a series regular the following season. Ryan continued to play the bisexual sorcerer until the Season 6 finale, though the actor stuck around in Season 7 to play scientist Gwyn Davies. Two years after Legends of Tomorrow was cancelled, co-creator Marc Guggenheim has clarified why the show stopped using Constantine, and the reasoning is so frustrating.

In addition to sharing his regrets over Earth-1’s Laurel Lance being killed off in Arrow Season 4, which happens to be his “least favorite” season, Guggenheim also spent some time on The Showrunner Whisperer talking about instances where he and the other Arrowverse creative minds were told by DC that they couldn’t use certain characters. As he says below, this is what happened with John Constantine:

So rather than the Legends of Tomorrow writers deciding that John Constantine’s story had run its course, it was DC that informed them that he could no longer appear on the series. So in the Season 6 finale, even though Constantine came back to life, he was once again damned after selling his soul to a demon, and needed to walk a different path from the other Legends. So he bid farewell to Zara Tarazi, his former love interest, and left her with a key that was revealed to lead to pocket dimension in Hell that looked like a replica of his house.

You may be asking yourself now why DC told the Legends of Tomorrow team that John Constantine could no longer be used. Well, when The Showrunner Whisperer host Andy Behbakht brought up how there had been rumors that the character was “pulled,” Marc Guggenheim said there were “probably a lot of truths of that rumor,” though he didn’t elaborate. Behbakht then noted how there was once a Constantine TV show that was being developed for Max, and that one could "put the pieces together” with that information. Guggenheim responded:

While it’s fortunate that Matt Ryan was able to stay on Legends of Tomorrow until it ended, I’m frustrated by how things turned out with the Arrowverse’s John Constantine. First off, though there are numerous instances of DC deciding that only one live-action version of a character can exist at a time, some exceptions have been made, like with Grant Gustin and Ezra Miller’s versions of Flash, and Tyler Hoechlin and Henry Cavill’s versions of Superman. Why couldn’t the same have been done with Constantine?

More importantly though, like Guggenheim said, this Max Constantine series didn’t even end up happening! Announced in 2021, the project, which was being developed by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot productions and would have been set in the DC Extended Universe, was scrapped by the following year. It’s also likely this DCEU version of John Constantine would have appeared in the Justice League Dark series that Bad Robot was also working on, but it too was tossed aside in early 2023. So ultimately Matt Ryan’s Constantine was taken out of Legends of Tomorrow for nothing, making it all the more annoying that his story ended by a corporate mandate rather than for narrative reasons.

If you’d like to revisit Legends of Tomorrow, it can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. Otherwise, continue visiting CinemaBlend for the latest and greatest news about upcoming DC TV shows.

In 2020, Arrow concluded its run on The CW, although characters like Oliver Queen and John Diggle would later resurface in The Flash and other corners of the Arrowverse. Still, with nearly half a decade having passed since the eight-season saga following Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow ended, Marc Guggenheim has opened up about aspects of the show that didn’t turn out the way he hoped. Specifically, he talked about what would have prevented Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance from being killed off, as well as why Arrow Season 4, i.e. the season in which she met her demise, is his “least favorite” of the bunch.

Marc Guggenheim Regrets Arrow Killing Off Laurel Lance

Although Katie Cassidy appeared in every season of Arrow and resumed being a series regular in Season 6 to continue playing Earth-2’s Laurel Lance, the Earth-1 Laurel, who’d been around since the show began in 2012, was mortally stabbed by Damien Darhk in “Eleven-Fifty-Nine.” While discussing the drastically different kinds of fan reactions that Arrow received in comparison to fellow Arrowverse series Legends of Tomorrow, Marc Guggenheim said during his appearance on The Showrunner Whisperer that had he known the Emerald Archer’s show would have gone on as long as he did, Earth-1 Laurel would have stuck around, explaining:

Laurel’s death was met with a lot of backlash from fans in 2016, though at the time, Marc Guggenheim defended the decision. But like he said, that was back when Arrow was only expected to run for five seasons, and it ended up going for an additional three. It’s fortunate Katie Cassidy was able to keep participating in Arrow, and I presume she welcomed the opportunity to play a Laurel with a much different personality. Still, I can’t help wondering what might have happened with Earth-1 Laurel had she survived the events of Season 4.

Marc Guggenheim Doesn’t Like Arrow Season 4’s Tone

Marc Guggenheim’s regret over what happened to Earth-1 Laurel are just part of his larger issues with Arrow Season 4. As he acknowledged in the below quote, going with a more lighthearted tone following three seasons of dark storytelling wasn’t a good call:

Guggenheim added that he wished he and the Arrow writing team had approached Season 4’s storyline differently, and that they’d “stuck to the game plan too rigidly in a lot of places.” So he’d go back and change things if he could, though he then shared why he wouldn’t touch the Season 4 finale, titled “Schism”:

If you’re interested in revisiting Arrow, it can be streamed with a Netflix subscription among plenty of other DC movies and TV shows on that platform. Otherwise, make sure you have a Max subscription, as that’s where the majority of upcoming DC TV shows will be going.

While there is still one upcoming DC show on The CW – Superman and Lois, which will return this fall on the 2024 TV schedule – the heyday of superhero shows on this network is long gone. Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning and Batwoman dominated the network’s programming between 2012 and 2023, and they’d occasionally come together for epic crossovers, creating quite an interconnected world. However, those Arrowverse moments were not easy to make, and a producer got real about just how challenging it was to coordinate this television universe and their crossover events.

Marc Guggenheim, who served as the co-creator of Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow and an executive producer on Supergirl, The Flash and Batwoman, got real about the headache-inducing logistics of planning crossovers on Multiverse of Color. He said these events were some of the hardest things to do when it came to these shows, and explained why, saying:

Adding to that, he broke down everything they had to consider when creating crossovers. They were dealing with multiple casts, crews, budgets and stories (among many other things), and it was a massive puzzle to solve, as he said:

He went on to say that there was a lot of trust between him, other producers and executives working on these massive shows, which helped. However, that does not diminish just how complicated these are.

Not only are there multiple complex storylines to figure out and integrate into one big story, but logistically, it sounds like a nightmare. He specifically cited “Crisis on Earth-X” – which aired in 2017 as a crossover of Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, and was actually almost a “seamless movie” – as a particularly difficult one. This was because the cast had to play both their characters and their evil doppelgangers, doubling the screen time of all the actors.

Guggenheim then laid out some of those behind-the-scenes challenges they had to handle across the years when they were creating these massive crossovers. Using “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and a scene that involved tons of characters as his example -- which was a crossover between Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, and left many debating if it was the best or worst thing to happen to the Arrowverse -- he said:

Earlier in the interview, the producer explained that they’d schedule the shows so each one would have a day where they’d shut down so the cast could go work on a different series. He also noted that over time they got better at scheduling out and planning these episodes. However, it's still a stressful amount to juggle no matter how much practice you've had.

Adding to the complications, Guggenheim pointed out that when they were constructing these television events, they’d have to talk with every showrunner for each show, work out rights for footage from different DC projects and convince actors to say yes:

I also haven’t even brought up the scheduling challenges that came out of weather issues (because these shows were filmed in Vancouver) and problems with CGI and special effects...

All this is to say, these multi-show events were spectacular and a major moment in modern network television history. Understanding the work that went into them behind the scenes honestly makes them even better.

To go back and see these epic crossovers, you can stream Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow with a Netflix subscription. Various other DC shows, including some of the Arrowverse, like Batwoman, can be viewed with a Max subscription. And if you do go back to view these wild television events, make sure to give them a little extra appreciation now that you know just how hard they were to create.

While Arrow wasn’t the first DC TV show to air on The CW, with that honor belonging to Smallville since it was part of the opening programming block following The WB and UPN merging into one network, there’s no question that the Stephen Amell-led series was a big deal for the channel. The adventures of Oliver Queen paved the way for spinoffs like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman that all came together to form the Arrowverse. However, it turns out that even before this shared continuity came into existence, Arrow was already crucial to The CW’s survival.

Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim appeared on The Showrunner Whisperer to speak with host Andy Behbakht about his career, including the origins of Arrow, which premiered in 2012, six years after The CW launched. When asked what hurdles he had to overcome in Season 1, the executive producer revealed:

Wow, talk about high expectations right out of the gate! When Arrow first hit the airwaves, The CW’s other shows included Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries, all of which certainly had sizable fanbases, and Smallville had concluded its 10-season run the year prior. But evidently things were dire enough at The CW that if Arrow hadn’t grabbed viewers immediately with the Emerald Archer’s adventures in then-Starling City, the network would have simply collapsed.

Fortunately, that didn’t end up happening. While Arrow handled the Green Arrow mythology with a darker tone compared to much of its comic book source material, with Marc Guggenheim and the rest of the creative team taking inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, the show proved popular enough to warrant The CW ordering a second season. In the end, Arrow ran for eight seasons (though it was originally designed to only last five seasons), and the Arroweverse as a whole became one of The CW’s biggest draws of the 2010s. So yeah, it’s be an understatement to say that Arrow fulfilled Peter Roth’s wish of it being a “hit.”

If you’re now in the mood to revisit Arrow, it can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. Otherwise, use our 2024 TV schedule to keep track of what’s currently airing/streaming, and remember that plenty of other DC programming is available to watch if you have a Max subscription.

While the majority of Brandon Routh’s time in the Arrowverse was spent playing Ray Palmer, a.k.a. The Atom, in late 2019 and early 2020, the actor was given the opportunity to reprise Superman, the role that made him famous worldwide. The five-part Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover on The CW picked up with this version of the Man of Steel many years after the events of Superman Returns, and he was still keeping Earth-96 safe following the recreation of the multiverse. Now one of the Arrowverse’s creators has shared that he’s been talking about bringing Routh’s Superman back for an upcoming DC TV show, and I’m really hoping this happens.

Over on his X (formerly known as Twitter), Marc Guggenheim, who created Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, chimed in after he was tagged on a thread heaping praise upon Brandon Routh’s Kingdom Come-inspired Superman suit from Crisis on Infinite Earths. When one of the fans mentioned how they wish Routh could have led a 12-episode TV adaptation of All-Star Superman, Guggenheim mentioned:

It’s been a little over four years since Crisis on Infinite Earths finished airing, but Guggenheim and Routh are still keen on the latter’s Superman flying across the small screen again and have been formulating a way to bring him back. To be clear, this doesn’t mean such a series is happening, although though since Superman & Lois is ending with Season 4, this could easily fill the void it’s leaving behind. Other live-action Superman TV shows that have aired over the decades include The Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Smallville, with Tom Welling, the star of that latter show, having also reprised his Kal-El/Clark Kent in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

When we reunited with Brandon Routh’s Superman in the crossover, it was revealed that his Earth’s Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and other friends were killed when a “reject from Gotham” gassed The Daily Planet building. Despite suffering such loss, this Superman continued to fight for what’s right, and the black background of his S crest was meant to represent how “hope cut through” even in the darkest times. However, after Earth-96 and the rest of the multiverse was restored, this Superman went back to wearing a yellow background on his crest, implying that in this new version of reality, his loved ones are still alive. 

As great as the prospect of this series that Marc Guggenheim and Brandon Routh have been talking about sounds, the one obstacle that might prevent it from ever seeing the light of day is the fact that there are various other live-action Superman projects in development. Superman: Legacy is slated for July 2025 and is considered the “true beginning” of the DC Universe’s Chapter One slate; Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Superman movie, which would star a Black lead, is still in development as an Elseworlds project; and in 2021, it was reported that Michael B. Jordan was developing a series focused on the Val-Zod version of Superman for Max. That’s a pretty crowded playing field, but even so, I do sincerely hope that Routh does get to play Superman again someday, whether it’s in this proposed series or somewhere else.

If you’d like to revisit Brandon Routh’s previous Superman outings, Superman Returns can be viewed with a Max subscription. You’ll need both that and a Netflix subscription to stream all five parts of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The past year has been quite a busy time for Disney boss Bob Iger, from welcoming himself back to the mega-corporation in late 2022 to backwalking some of Bob Chapek’s pricy theme park decisions to the lawsuit-laden culture war with Florida’s governor. Though his early return was largely positive, Iger totally stepped in it thanks to an in-depth CNBC interview in which he heavily criticized Marvel Studios for its lacking Disney+ success being a major hindrance to the box office earnings for the MCU in a post-Avengers: Endgame world. Arrowverse co-creator and comic scribe Marc Guggenheim entered that conversation with a P.O.V. that sounds more than a little loyal to his longtime ties to DC.

Bob Iger, who also provoked anger by calling out striking writers and actors as being “non-realistic” with their demands, claimed that Marvel screwed up by not only releasing an increased number of theatrical films, but also by pumping out streaming TV series, which he says “diluted focus and attention.” Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. vet Clark Gregg shared a brief response to that notion, as CinemaBlend reported, but former Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow showrunner Marc Guggenheim had a lot more to say about it that essentially aligned with Iger’s vision, albeit more from a creative angle than one based more purely on financial gains. When appearing on an installment of the podcast The Aarthi and Sriram Show, Guggenheim addressed the glut of MCU programming, saying: 

As someone who helped create DC’s most fluid and interconnective live-action universe to date, Marc Guggenheim’s viewpoint here actually is more informed than one might think from the outset. Granted, the Arrowverse was on a vastly different wavelength than the MCU, without blockbuster features factoring into the mix, but Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and the rest also churned out far more hours of content than Marvel has with its small-screen efforts. And on comparatively tiny budgets, also, which often didn’t help with the quality, but at least made things consistent throughout the seasons. 

More to his above point, one wouldn’t have needed to see Sara Lance or Ray Palmer’s Arrow seasons or Mick Rory and Leonard Snart’s villainous roots on The Flash in order to fully understand Legends of Tomorrow. There may be connective tissue that adds layers of value and context for completists, but that tissue shouldn’t affect a project’s ability to tell a coherent tale all on its own. Guggenheim continued:

Guggenheim is good at making it clear he does enjoy Marvel projects — save for those still unseen — and isn’t just siding with Bob Iger to be harsh to the fandom. It's no secret that he's written a bunch for Marvel comics, and not just superhero stories for S.H.I.E.L.D. and X-Men, but also Star Wars series. But then he let the DC vibes enter into his answers, as seen below. 

Basically, what Marc Guggenheim is saying here is that the only way Marvel can save itself from overproduction is to pull a storytelling move directly from DC lore, and should probably just be more like DC in general. Okay, okay, that’s not actually what the Green Lantern co-screenwriter is saying, but it’s not like he accidentally dropped a “Crisis on Infinite Earths” reference in there.

Not only was that one of the comic medium’s most important and influential arcs, but it was also the namesake of the biggest Arrowverse crossover event, with so many cameos and surprises, which included Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen. Regardless of one’s feelings about it, it inarguably changed that TV multiverse in huge ways, which is what Guggenheim is suggesting should happen within the MCU.

Regardless of what he thinks, though, Kevin Feige is gonna do Kevin Feige. And considering Miller’s Flash movie has widely been considered to be one of DC’s biggest bombs, with James Gunn and Peter Sarafan steering the DCU into an unknown future, I can’t imagine the Marvel Studios bigwig is looking across the comic pond for any inspiration on that front. Still, though, maybe he could just suddenly become obsessed with Jaws’ less is more outlook for guidance…

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While DC Comics has seen mixed success within the realm of cinema, the brand has consistently churned out quality content for television. This is greatly due to the rise of the Arrowverse and other live-action series over the past decade. Of course, the stable of content is always expanding and, in the near future, fans can expect to see a Green Lantern show hit their screens. While the details that have been revealed are enough to get one excited, some fans may still have reservations about the property, due largely to Ryan Reynolds’ 2011 film. However, producer Marc Guggenheim has shared some thoughts on how he and his team would like to remedy the mistakes made with that particular movie.

At this point in his career, Marc Guggenheim has just about done it all. He’s helped shepherd Arrowverse shows like Arrow and Supergirl and has also served as a writer and/or producer on a host of other TV series. He also, however, co-wrote the screenplay for Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern with Arrowverse producer Greg Berlanti and Michael Green, which was later re-written by Michael Goldenberg. Now, as Guggenheim, Berlanti and their collaborators work on this new series, the veteran producer is making their approach clear:

It definitely seems as though Marc Guggenheim and the Green Lantern team are trying to craft a strong show and avoid any of the backlash that the film received a decade ago. Even today fans still share negative thoughts on the movie, and even the self-deprecating Ryan Reynolds has no problem joking about it.

But Marc Guggenheim and Greg Berlanti are all business, based on the former’s recent comments to ComicBookMovie.com. And it sounds like their work on the movie is what’s motivating them on this new Green Lantern production:

Early details on HBO Max’s Green Lantern suggest the show will be almost entirely different from its big-screen predecessor. For starters, the show is set to move away from veteran Lantern Hal Jordan and focus on other members of the galactic peacekeeping organization. With this, the series will reportedly shift between different time periods. The show is also said to be a step above the Arrowverse shows when it comes to production values. Other live-action DC shows are also available to stream on HBO Max, which you can sign up for using this link.

Despite the Green Lantern movie, there’s still plenty of reason to have faith in Marc Guggenheim and co. There’s clearly a lot of experience between the group, and their work on the Arrowverse is a true testament to their passion for DC Comics.

Arrow wrapped its eighth and final season in January, but the series finale was unique in that the emerald archer was already long gone by then. He mainly appeared in flashbacks because Oliver Queen died not once, but twice during the mega crossover that preceded Arrow’s end. Recently, executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained why Oliver had to die in "Crisis on Infinite Earths.”

Arrow kicked off what became known as the Arrowverse, with the shared universe expanding to include The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and more. With Arrow’s end coinciding with “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” it seemed incredibly apt that the superhero to launch the Arrowverse would also be the one to die when the multiverse was at stake. Marc Guggenheim, who once served as Arrow’s showrunner, revealed that he’d always advocated for Oliver’s death. Here’s what he told ComicBookMovie.com:

I also didn’t think that Oliver’s journey would end in “any other way,” either. The Green Arrow never struck me as the kind of hero who would live to see the end of his days, so sacrificing himself to save the multiverse and his family felt like the right way to go. Of course, the emerald archer’s legacy lives on in his children, William and Mia, whose lives were rewritten in the aftermath of their father’s death.

Oliver also knew in advance that he was going to die. In Arrow’s Season 7 finale, the Monitor paid a visit to Star City’s hero — who had made a deal with the galactic being in the year’s previous crossover “Elseworlds” — and told him that he was fated to die during “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” But was Oliver’s death always meant to occur in the crossover? Here’s what Marc Guggenheim had to say:

It’s a small, but important change and I think dying in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” actually gave Oliver a bigger send-off than if he had died on Arrow. Either way, the Green Arrow got his own version of a happy ending in the Arrow series finale, and that’s all any superhero can really hope for after years of hardship.

All eight seasons of Arrow are currently streaming on Netflix. The Flash, Batwoman, and new Arrowverse series Superman & Lois are slated to premiere their new seasons in January 2021. For more on what to watch, be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere guide.

Legends of Tomorrow left fans with a lot to think about as it hurtled towards its Season 5 finale, including if it was time for at least one hero to die. Outside of that ominous consideration came the surprising choice for the superhero drama to take a shot at Arrow, of all shows, in its latest episode.

Yes, Arrow. The show from which the Arrowverse takes its name was the subject of a not-so-subtle dig in Legends of Tomorrow’s latest episode, entitled “The One Where We're Trapped On TV.” As its Friends-inspired title suggests, our heroes found themselves in a television show within a television show conundrum.

It all eventually led to Nate describing a show that sounded a lot like Arrow, which Zari called dumb. Why did Legends of Tomorrow choose to take such a strong shot at its predecessor? Was it angst over Felicity choosing Oliver over Ray Palmer back in the day on Arrow? Ray is off of Legends now, so that shouldn't be the case.

The episode’s director was asked about the shot at the now-wrapped Arrow, which struck its mark as well as if Oliver Queen had been the one to take the shot. Legends of Tomorrow’s consulting producer and Arrow’s co-developer, Marc Guggenheim, told EW:

Marc Guggenheim certainly has no reason to bear Arrow any ill will. He co-developed the series, which ran for an impressive eight seasons before ending earlier this year. Just because he initially envisioned Arrow ending with a reference to Batman does not mean he has an issue with the departed series.

Marc Guggenheim’s choice to take a self-effacing shot at Arrow during his directorial debut on Legends of Tomorrow seems to have more to do with having a little laugh at his own expense. After all, devoted fans knew that Guggenheim helmed this episode and that the two shows share a universe. Responding to a compliment regarding the moment, Guggenheim said:

True. If you are going to come for Friends and other television shows, why not come for your own? Legends of Tomorrow did not just leave its references in the television realm. With the aforementioned Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan reference, the series also hit out at movies. Even though the film was a big-screen follow-up to a TV show.

The Arrowverse has never been one to shy away from an inside joke and this one about Arrow certainly hit the mark. While Legends of Tomorrow did not call the Arrow-inspired show “Arrow,” the audience undoubtedly noticed the nod and hopefully got a laugh out of it in the process.

The Season 5 finale of Legends of Tomorrow airs next week on Tuesday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Afterward, you can anticipate this summer’s premieres. You can currently stream past seasons of the superhero drama on Netflix along with lots of new 2020 content.

Spoilers ahead for the penultimate episode of Legends of Tomorrow Season 5, called "The One Where We're Trapped On TV."

Only one episode is left before Legends of Tomorrow heads into a long hiatus ahead of Season 6 on The CW, and "The One Where We're Trapped On TV" guarantees that the finale should be a doozy. While a lot of the penultimate episode was packed with Legends of Tomorrow shenanigans that were zany even by Legends of Tomorrow standards, the show also delivered a couple of pretty huge twists that sadly lead me to believe that one of the heroes needs to die in the finale.

Behrad was resurrected in the TV world Charlie constructed to stash her friends and save them, and Zari 1.0 now exists with her own body in the same timeline as Zari 2.0. That's not to say that "The One Where We're Trapped On TV" has a happy ending, though.

The odds are still stacked against the Legends as they try to figure out a 1984-esque timeline without the help of Charlie, and there's something just a little bit sinister about having Behrad and two Zaris in the mix at the same time. It's not supposed to be allowed in one timeline, and that can't lead to anything good.

Sure, Zari 1.0 and Nate got to joyfully reunite (and make out enthusiastically enough to cause a scene) while Behrad and Zari 2.0 were immensely relieved to find each other again, but something has to give. If you ask me, that "something" is going to have to be one of the Zaris or Charlie. The Legends can't get two people back without serious consequences, right?

Legends of Tomorrow producer and episode director Marc Guggenheim weighed in on the coming ramifications, saying this to TVLine:

Of course Marc Guggenheim didn't spell out what's going to happen in the Season 5 finale, but a "very emotional place" doesn't sound like a 100% happy place, and my money is on somebody being killed off to balance the scales a bit. Selfishly, I'm hoping that one of the Zaris dies. I love them both despite my original reservations about Zari 2.0, but one Zari dying wouldn't mean Tala Ashe would have to leave Legends of Tomorrow.

Behrad dying (again) would mean viewers lose Shayan Sobhian shortly after getting him back again, and Charlie dying might have to mean the departure of Maisie Richardson-Sellers despite Legends finding a way to keep her on after Amaya's departure. If I have to say goodbye to either Zari 1.0 or Zari 2.0 to keep Tala Ashe, Sobhian, and Richardson-Sellers into Season 5, I'll take it!

All of this said, there is no guarantee that one of the heroes is 100% going to die or, if somebody does die, it will be Behrad, Charlie, and/or a Zari. I don't want to go too hard on a prediction, given that this is the show that managed to end a season with a giant Beebo. Anything can happen on Legends of Tomorrow, so who knows? Still, if Legends of Tomorrow is going to stick to one of the relatively few solid rules it has set for itself, I think one of those four is going to have to die.

Find out when the Legends of Tomorrow Season 5 finale, called "Swan Thong," airs on Tuesday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW in the 2020 summer TV lineup.

Last week, superhero fans were shocked to learn that Batwoman star Ruby Rose would be leaving her role as the titular heroine after only one season. This, of course, leaves the show’s producers with the massive task of having recasting the part before starting production on the upcoming second season. For many, this could be viewed as a difficult and stressful job, but Arrowverse guru Marc Guggenheim seems to have found a silver lining. He not only appears to be at ease about the development, but he even sees it as an opportunity:

At first glance, the sentiments that Marc Guggenheim shared with Collider may be somewhat surprising but, when you really think about it, he has a point. Sure, the Batwoman team is in a tough situation, but those kinds of instances can serve as periods of creative inspiration.

In this case, showrunner Caroline Dries and her collaborators have the opportunity to take a step back and consider how they want to proceed with a new actress. This could lead to a reinvention of the character that may be a better fit for the series and the Arrowverse as a whole.

Not much is known about exactly why Ruby Rose decided to exit the newest show in the Arrowverse, but reports point to her departure being a mutual decision between her and The CW. It’s also been mentioned that she reportedly didn’t enjoy working long hours as the series’ lead and didn’t adjust to shooting in Vancouver. There haven’t been any reports of Batwoman having a negative set environment, but maybe this transition will also help to smooth out this aspect of production.

In the midst of this transition, it’s currently unclear if the Batwoman crew is planning to change anything story-wise. The first season finished with the introduction of Tommy Elliot, aka Hush, who is currently impersonating Kate Kane’s cousin, Bruce Wayne. With this, his role is intended to expand in Season 2. On top of this, a crossover with the upcoming Superman & Lois is also being planned.

The DC Comics show may be facing a tricky situation right now, but Marc Guggenheim’s thoughts should, at the very least, put some fans at ease. Let’s hope Kate Kane’s story can still keeping moving in the right direction.

Batwoman is set to return to The CW for its second season in early 2021.

The CW’s fall TV season is going to look a lot different this year, with most of the network’s line-up premiering in January 2021. To fill the empty time slots, The CW acquired the broadcast rights to DC Universe’s one-and-done horror series, Swamp Thing. In DC comics, Legends of Tomorrow’s John Constantine was first introduced in The Swamp Thing Saga #37. Now that both properties are on The CW, could Legends of Tomorrow crossover with Swamp Thing? Well, executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently revealed the chances of that happening.

The latest Arrowverse crossover, “Crisis on Infinite Earths," brought together DC characters from across its various live-action properties. However, Swamp Thing was noticeably absent, save for a brief clip revealing its existence outside of the Arrowverse. By that point, though, the show had already been cancelled. Now that Swamp Thing and Legends of Tomorrow are sharing a network, the possibility of a crossover is likely, right? Recently, Marc Guggenheim explained his efforts to include the DC Universe show in “Crisis” and discussed the possibility of a future Legends crossover. Here’s what he said:

“Hope springs eternal” is a good attitude to have, especially knowing how much the Arrowverse has accomplished with crossovers in the past. Never say never and all that. I'm sure there are a lot of logistics, rights issues, and other behind-the-scenes stuff to figure out, but the chances of it happening seem a lot higher than ever before.

What’s more, viewers didn't expect to see so many cameos in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and the team somehow managed to pull it off. As for Swamp Thing crossing over with Legends of Tomorrow, Marc Guggenheim further explained to CBR.com that he isn’t so keen to bet against it happening. Here’s how he puts it:

Many are hoping that Swamp Thing's arrival on The CW will actually get the network to pick it up for Season 2. The series, which starred Teen Wolf’s Crystal Reed, Derek Mears, and Andy Bean was unceremoniously cancelled by DC Universe shortly after its Season 1 premiere last year. Whether the series ever crosses over with Legends of Tomorrow remains to be seen. At the very least, it might capture the attention of new viewers when it premieres on The CW this fall.

Swamp Thing Season 1 doesn't yet have a scheduled CW release date but, if you can't wait for it to premiere, you can stream it now on DC Universe. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates. In the meantime, you can also catch John Constantine in new episodes of Legends of Tomorrow Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on The CW.

Arrow’s series finale aired back in January, and there are still more revelations coming to light about how its co-creator had wanted the superhero series to end. There was more left off of the table than the amount of Felicity that ended up making it in. Arrow’s co-creator, Mark Guggenheim, has revealed he originally envisioned the series ending with a Batman reference.

Batman did end up making it to the Arrow-verse before its seminal series went off the air. Kevin Conroy played Bruce Wayne in live-action form for the final crossover to feature Arrow, “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Marc Guggenheim has revealed that he had envisioned Batman playing a significant role in Arrow’s series finale, telling the Fake Nerd Podcast:

To be clear, Oliver was always set to die in the Arrow finale. That development actually happened well before the series ender. In fact, it occurred in the first episode of the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. The handling of said death scene led to Oliver Queen’s portrayer, Stephen Amell, bluntly speaking his mind about it, but the aftershocks of Oliver’s life is where yet another twist could have lied.

Marc Guggenheim revealed that a news broadcast was set to offer some narrative context to Oliver’s death. All of which would have led to the reveal that Oliver’s run as the Green Arrow had inspired Batman to take up his mantle. The shot that Guggenheim describes ending the series actually sounds quite awesome.

So, what happened to take this Batman-launching Arrow ending out of the cards? Marc Guggenheim explained that part of it had to do with the emergence of the Arrow-verse’s Batwoman series. But, while there seems to be more to it than just that, Guggenheim did not explain what else happened.

Obviously, Arrow ending with a Batman reference would have theoretically been the backdoor launch to a Batman series. This is just personal speculation, but since Batwoman was already on the air when Arrow ended, the desire for a Batman show may not have been as pressing or feasible to set-up anymore.

Whatever the reason, in the end, Arrow went off the air without the vivid Batman tease that Marc Guggenheim had initially envisioned. On the flip side, Arrow ending with a Batman reference would have been yet another moment which contributed to a character who could have their own show, as Arrow gave rise to numerous spinoffs during its time.

I could see an argument for Arrow making its final moments more about its own legacy than starting another. With that said, it is time for a poll! Do you like the version of the Arrow series finale that made it to air? Or would you have preferred to have had Batman make his mark in the final moments of the show’s run? Weigh in via the poll below!

This poll is no longer available.

You can currently watch Arrow on Netflix. The superhero drama is streaming along with newly arriving 2020 content. If you need something else to view, you can check out this spring’s premieres.

With the five-episode “Crisis on Infinite Earths” over and Arrow’s series finale having aired, Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen can now enjoy his afterlife knowing that his sacrifice to help save the multiverse wasn’t in vain. Unfortunately, the character’s death made some fans very unhappy to the point where they were sending threatening online comments to LaMonica Garrett, the actor who played The Monitor in the episode that resulted in the notable recent death. Now, Arrow-verse co-creator Marc Guggenheim has a message for those who have been sending LaMonica Garrett threats over The Monitor killing Oliver.

Way back during the “Elseworlds” crossover, Oliver Queen made a deal with The Monitor. He would do the being’s bidding and die during “Crisis on Infinite Earths” when the time came. Yes, Oliver did die (twice), but that wasn’t LaMonica Garrett’s fault, right? Some didn’t see it that way, apparently. A few days ago, Garrett posted a screenshot of his Instagram DMs on Twitter as proof of the hate being hurled his way. Marc Guggenheim stepped in to make it clear that he feels these threats are not appropriate. Here’s what he wrote on Twitter:

It should be an obvious lesson that an actor is not the character they play on TV, but from the looks of things,  there are some who have difficulty separating fiction from reality. Unfortunately, LaMonica Garrett isn’t the first Arrow-verse actor to receive hate from the fanbase, but Marc Guggenheim coming to his defense might hopefully help dissuade others from sending the actor similar messages.

LaMonica Garrett previously revealed that joining the Arrow-verse was “intimidating” because he was still a new character during the “Elseworlds” crossover. It’s unfortunate to have to wonder if he might feel unwelcome now because certain fans are displeased with something a fictional character did as part of a story. Personally, I think he did a great job portraying both The Monitor and The Anti-Monitor.

Either way, it’s like Marc Guggenheim said, LaMonica Garrett is an actor at the end of the day and none of what his character does is his personal fault. Besides, Arrow’s season finale gave Oliver something akin to a happy ending and he’s kicking it in the afterlife with Felicity. I doubt he’s angry at The Monitor for that.

While Arrow ended its eight-season run recently, there are still plenty over at the CW to enjoy. The Flash -- which is set to change one character’s life forever --and Legends of Tomorrow air new episodes every Tuesday at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, respectively, while Black Lightning airs on Mondays, and Supergirl and Batwoman dominate Sunday nights. For more on what to watch, be sure to check out our midseason schedule for updated premiere dates and times.

Spoilers for the final episode of Arrow (ever) are discussed below!

Arrow has said its goodbyes via the series finale, and while fans mourn the ending of an era, they probably have some questions. For instance, how on earth did Arrow pull off that opening scene between Slade Wilson and Moira Queen in the final episode? That would be the one in which Oliver changes his mother’s former fate at Slade's hands.

In the opening minutes of Arrow’s final episode, the show shifted gears back to a pivotal moment that changed the series forever. Back in Season 2, Episode 20, Slade murdered Moira in front of a bound Oliver by impaling her with his sword. In Arrow’s finale, Oliver was able to save Moira’s life by getting to Slade before he could commit the heinous crime. Thus, restoring his mother’s life, and arguably giving fans some “wish fulfillment” in the process.

The moment was brought to you in part by a rebooted timeline, some creative thinking behind-the-scenes, and a dash of never-before-seen footage. Arrow-verse executive producer, Marc Guggenheim, explained the logistics of bringing the scene to the screen, telling TVLine:

Indeed! Marc Guggenheim revealed the deleted scene in question was originally supposed to unfold three episodes after Moira’s death occurred in Season 2, Episode 20. In it, Oliver dreamed he made it to Slade in time to save Moira. The scene ended up not making the cut, paving the way for it to be used, after all, in Arrow's final episode.

In the series finale, Arrow’s daydream became a reality. The Arrow-verse’s executive producer went on to say that the re-purposed deleted scene provided a "seamless" rendering of the rebooted sequence. Since it was shot back in Season 2, Arrow’s cast remained frozen in time. What a way for things to work out!

Oliver Queen may be dead, but his mother is back among the living. The game-changing save has many repercussions, as it means Moira is alive, and presumably accessible to the Arrow-verse from here out! One place she could theoretically pop up in the future is in that potential spinoff. Before saying goodbye, Arrow set-up a backdoor pilot for a spinoff involving Moira’s granddaughter, Mia Queen.

All in all, this behind-the-scenes story is yet another sign of how creative Arrow’s team got when it came time to conjure up the series finale. The last episode was initially set to feature more of Moira’s daughter-in-law, Felicity. However, things worked out differently due to scheduling. There were no schedules to worry about with this inventive solution for the Moira/Slade scene, though!

Arrow dug back through its eight-season history and found the unused sequence that pulled everything together. Someone was clearly thinking way outside of the box. As a result, Oliver was able to save his mom in a smoothly injected scene, and the timeline that sprung forth was a much more splendid one.

Now Arrow fans will have to stay tuned to see if John Diggle returns as Green Lantern and if that backdoor pilot gets greenlit as a series. As for Arrow, it is over now. However, the Arrow-verse lives on through The CW franchise, which will continue airing new episodes throughout the winter and spring.

You can currently stream past seasons of Arrow (including Season 2, Episode 20) on Netflix, along with new content arriving in 2020. If you need another show to get into while processing the end of Arrow, you can check out the winter and spring premieres.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for the series finale of Arrow on The CW.

The Arrow series finale ended Oliver Queen's story with some closure, but another Arrow hero's journey may take him to outer space. The final episode ended John Diggle's story with Oliver's longtime righthand man packing up to move his family to Metropolis, only to be knocked to the ground by something crashing to the ground from space. That something turned out to be a glowing green box that seemingly confirmed fan speculation that Diggle is the Arrow-verse version of DC Comics Green Lantern John Stewart. So could he return to the Arrow-verse despite the end of Arrow, as Green Lantern?

The scene of Diggle finding the glowing green box was a long-awaited (and more or less promised) payoff, but it didn't show a Green Lantern ring or anything to confirm he could have a Green Lantern future. Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim addressed the big reveal in the series finale, saying this:

Unlike the Arrow-verse nabbing Ezra Miller for a last-minute appearance in "Crisis on Infinite Earths," Arrow delivering a Green Lantern twist for John Diggle has evidently been in the works for quite a long time. On the one hand, there was no real reason not to give a sign of something very exciting for John Diggle in the future, since the end of Arrow means the end of his story as the right hand of the universe's founding hero anyway. On the other hand, the larger Arrow-verse continues, and so could John Diggle's story.

As Marc Guggenheim noted, the characters left alive at the end of the series finale -- and there were quite a few living characters who were very much dead before "Crisis on Infinite Earths" -- could go in pretty much any direction. Laurel, Dinah, and Mia's futures are more or less set thanks to the 2040-set backdoor pilot for Green Arrow & the Canaries, but everybody else's future was up in the air. Who could argue that Diggle's potential Green Lantern future isn't one of the most intriguing?

Marc Guggenheim went on in his chat with Deadline to explain that there's not a lot he can say about a possible future for Diggle as a suited-up Green Lantern:

What is certain at this point is that some Green Lantern action is coming to the small screen, although not necessarily in the Arrow-verse. HBO Max ordered a Green Lantern series, which has been confirmed to include more than one Green Lantern. Could David Ramsey jump from The CW to HBO Max to play a Green Lantern, and thus add one more show to the Arrow-verse? "Crisis on Infinite Earths" already incorporated pretty much everything else from DC TV!

Even if David Ramsey isn't destined for the HBO Max series, there is a way for him to potentially suit up as Green Lantern in the Arrow-verse, and not necessarily due to his upcoming appearance on The Flash. The Arrow finale established that Diggle and his family are moving to Metropolis, which just so happens to be the setting of the upcoming Superman & Lois series. It might be kind of strange for a superhero series set in Metropolis not to include one of Arrow's surviving superheroes when he's right there, right?

David Ramsey couldn't explain what the glowing green box means for Diggle's future in the Arrow-verse, but he dropped some teasing comments at an Arrow series finale press screening (via TVLine) worth getting excited about:

Fans may not get to see Diggle suited up as Green Lantern, but David Ramsey indicates that some answers are on the way! Personally, I'm hoping Diggle at least mentions the glowing green box when he drops by The Flash in its winter premiere. He did recently see Barry, after Barry zoomed over to Star City for Oliver's funeral, and the disbanding of Team Arrow means he'd have to go somewhere else to try and dig into whatever it was that landed in front of him and glowed green.

Unfortunately, the episode description for Diggle's visit to The Flash (which is now the most senior Arrow-verse series) doesn't give away any details about what he's doing there:

See what's next for John Diggle with the winter premiere of The Flash, called "Marathon," which airs on Tuesday, February 4 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. The Arrow-verse continues even without Arrow, and we'll have to wait and see if Arrow's spinoff gets a series order. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV and movie news, and don't forget to swing by our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule for more viewing options.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Arrow series finale, “Fadeout,” so be sure to watch before reading on.

Arrow’s series finale tied up some loose plot strings and brought back a lot of people that were important to Oliver Queen’s life and journey as the Green Arrow. One of the most important returns, of course, was that of Emily Bett Rickards’ Felicity Smoak, who was last seen in the Season 7 finale. Felicity’s comeback was a sight for longing eyes across parts of the fandom, and Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim revealed that the original finale plan actually had a lot more Felicity involved.

“Fadeout,” which provided its fair share of wish fulfillment, took place a month after the events of mega-crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which saw Oliver sacrifice himself and help rebirth a new multiverse. Back in Star City, Felicity returned to say her "final" goodbyes and help rescue young William. However, Marc Guggenheim says the original plan was for Felicity to appear in the flashback scenes as well, alongside Oliver and Diggle. Here’s his reasoning for why there was less of Felicity than originally intended:

That pesky scheduling! I’m sure fans would not have opposed seeing more of Felicity, but it’s understandable that Emily Bett Rickards' availability and logistics got in the way of that. I was just happy that she was able to come back at all because it would have been strange for Arrow to end without one of its core characters there to say goodbye.

While Felicity was largely around in the present day, “Fadeout” does end with the continuation of her meeting The Monitor from the Season 7 finale, when he takes her to see Oliver in the afterlife. It may have taken 20 years for the two lovers to be reunited, but it was a happy ending of sorts for the couple nonetheless.

Speaking to TVLine, Marc Guggenheim says he conceived Oliver and Felicity’s reunion scene while meditating, and that the Arrow series finale delivered on the final scene “almost word for word.” It’s nice to know that the reunion didn’t have to be reworked due to scheduling and what not, and was filmed as planned.

Though Arrow is over, there are plenty of superhero shows left to watch in The CW’s Arrow-verse — The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, and Black Lightning — and they’ll all be exploring a post-“Crisis” life for the remainder of their respective seasons. And we're already going to be seeing David Ramsey's Diggle again very soon when he appears on The Flash. (But will he have that emerald ring?)

Also, keep an eye out for Superman & Lois, which was ordered to series by The CW. For more on what to watch elsewhere, be sure to check out our 2020 midseason schedule for updated premiere times and dates.

When the end of “Elseworlds” teased the Arrow-verse’s next crossover to be “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” excitement took hold. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” is one of DC Comics’ most ambitious stories and the fact that it was going to be adapted for The CW’s Arrow-verse was a big deal. However, executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently revealed the sacrifices that had to be made to get so many big names, including Smallville’s Tom Welling, to appear in “Crisis.”

With great crossovers come great sacrifice, apparently. While the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” storyline in the comics involved every character from DC’s repertoire, big fight sequences, and timeline overlaps, The CW’s version of the event was a lot smaller in scale. When asked if there was something from the comic books they’d have wanted to include in the TV adaptation and didn't, Marc Guggenheim explained how the budget constraints and cameos limited the extent of the action scenes in “Crisis.” Here’s what he said:

“Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which saw the death of a major Arrow-verse character and the merging of several earths into Earth-Prime, did include a large number of characters from other DC and Warner Bros. properties, all of whom lived on different earths across the multiverse. Burt Ward made a cameo as Dick Grayson/Robin from the 1960s Batman series, Lucifer’s Tom Ellis appeared from Earth-666 to help Constantine, and even Ezra Miller’s The Flash made a surprise cameo, connecting the DCEU with the Arrow-verse in a major way.

It’s no wonder the financial limitations prevented the crossover from including more action sequences. Those are big-name actors! Speaking with TVLine, Marc Guggenheim also confirmed that budget restraints were the reason behind the absence of Arrow’s Laurel Lance and The Flash’s Iris West-Allen and Cisco Ramon in the fifth and final episode of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”

The “hard financial choices” sometimes “drive the creative choices,” said Marc Guggenheim, who also approached Nicolas Cage about possibly appearing in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” and the final product made that apparent. However, now that the crossover is done and the Arrow-verse shows are all on the same earth, Guggenheim says he’s “really excited” to find out what the post-Crisis universe looks like.

Batwoman and Supergirl will offer the first glimpse as to what this new multiverse holds when the shows return with new episodes on Sunday, January 19 at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, respectively. For more on what to watch, be sure to check out our 2020 midseason schedule.

During Part 2 of the Arrow-verse crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Smallville's Tom Welling returned as Clark Kent for a long-awaited cameo, and his big scene was quite unexpected. Welling's Clark is well-known for having never donned the full Superman suit during Smallville's run, so his fate in “Crisis” was up in the air. To be expected, the actor had quite a reaction when he read the script.

For background: after stealing the Book of Destiny, Lex Luthor ventured across the multiverse to kill Superman. He visited Earth-167, where Smallville’s Clark Kent lived, and it didn’t take long for Lex to learn that this Clark had given up his powers, which was a shocking twist for the beloved small screen hero. According to executive producer and "Crisis" co-conspirator Marc Guggenheim, Tom Welling loved the scene. Here’s what Guggenheim had to say about Welling’s reaction:

Even though Tom Welling's Clark Kent could no longer save planes from falling out of the sky, he still had enough brute strength to punch Lex in the face. It was a memorable scene, and it’s a blessing that Tom Welling couldn’t turn it down, considering how many fans wanted to see the actor making a Smallville-centric return. (He'd passed on prior offers to reprise the role.) The "Crisis" moment earned extra fan points because it also included Erica Durance’s Lois Lane, who thought Clark’s mention of the multiverse was his lame attempt at a joke.

Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries shared with TVLine that they knew “Crisis on Infinite Earths” would feature several versions of Clark. But it was only when Tom Welling’s iteration came to mind that she knew the Kent farm had to be included as well.

The cow could never forget Tom Welling! In a way, the Kent farm has become its own entity within The CW shows, as it’s the second time it has appeared in an Arrow-verse crossover. The first introduction was during last year’s “Elseworlds.”

Thankfully, Smallville’s Clark Kent and Lois Lane seem to have gotten their happy ending (which didn’t happen for Oliver Queen), and will remain untouched by the anti-matter quickly spreading across the multiverse, at least for now. Black Lightning can’t say the same after last night’s episode, but we'll be watching to see how that gets handled, too.

The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” continues on Tuesday, December 10, at 8 p.m. with The Flash, where Barry Allen is currently still fated to die. The five-part crossover will probably end on a major mid-point cliffhanger and is set to conclude on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 with Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.

Warning! Major spoilers ahead for Supergirl’s episode of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”

The first hour of the Arrow-verse’s five-part “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover didn’t waste any time raising the stakes. Before Part 1 was done, Supergirl had lost both Argo and Earth-38, but the biggest shocker came when Oliver Queen died in the episode’s final minutes. Arrow-verse boss Marc Guggenheim knew he'd have to justify such an act, and did indeed have an explanation for the giant shock.

An after-special immediately followed Part One of “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which included multiple cameos from across the DC-verse, and featured executive producer Marc Guggenheim joining “Crisis Aftermath” host Kevin Smith to discuss the shocking death of Oliver Queen. (Among other things.) Guggenheim revealed that Oliver’s journey was always headed down this tragic path. Here’s what he had to say:

As someone who’s watched Arrow from the beginning, I’m in agreement with Marc Guggenheim and Stephen Amell’s line of thinking. A lot has changed for Oliver Queen since the beginning of Arrow, but his death makes more sense than the vigilante getting a happily-ever-after ending. Knowing how far he’s come in his journey, and what he’s sacrificed over the years, made his death in “Crisis” all the more meaningful.

That said, with four more episodes left of “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” the earliness of Oliver’s crossover death proved to be the biggest surprise of all. Marc Guggenheim continued, explaining that Oliver’s premature demise was by design. After all, there was no other way “Crisis” could shock fans who already knew Oliver was dying.

It was so shocking that not even The Monitor foresaw Oliver’s early demise, which pretty much means that no one is really safe at this point, and anything can happen. And who knows? There’s a strong chance that Barry Allen’s doomed fate could change as well.

The crossover continues with Batwoman on Monday, December 9 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW, followed by The Flash on December 10. The crossover will conclude on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 with Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET. For more on what to watch, be sure to check out our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule to find out what’s coming to TV.

It’s no secret that the Arrow-verse’s five-part crossover, “Crisis on Infinite Earth,” is uniting a plethora of characters from across the DC universe, including fellow CW superhero Black Lightning and Birds of Prey’s Ashley Scott. Beyond all that, though, a really big surprise came when executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently revealed that the show legitimately reached out to Superman enthusiast Nic Cage about appearing in “Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Back in October, Marc Guggenheim took to Twitter with a vague reference to reaching out to Nicolas Cage about appearing in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” and many fans thought it might have been a joke. However, it turns out that he wasn’t kidding at all. Here’s what Guggenheim said:

For some background, Nicolas Cage was tapped to play Superman in the 1998 Tim Burton project Superman Lives, a movie never saw the light of day. Though the film was dropped, it became the stuff of legend due to its pre-production process, and there was even a documentary about it called The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened? So it seemed fair to try and include Cage in the crossover, even though there were plenty of Supermen flying around in “Crisis” already.

Notice how Marc Guggenheim never actually says that Nicolas Cage turned down the offer. Maybe I’m reading into this too hard, but it sounds like there’s still hope that Cage, who also played a Batman-like hero in Kick-Ass, might still appear in “Crisis” in some capacity.

After all, only the first three episodes will air in December, with the final two episodes set to conclude the saga in January. Speaking with IndieWire, Marc Guggenheim confirmed that there are “at least six characters who appear in the first three hours that we haven’t announced” and he’s working on adding more for the final two episodes.

The former Arrow showrunner also revealed that Nicolas Cage wasn’t the only big name actor asked to cameo in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which also includes Kevin Conroy’s live-action debut portraying Batman.

The fact that Nicolas Cage is a big movie star, and that The CW probably couldn’t afford him, likely means that Cage won’t appear at all, so take all of this with a grain of salt. However, there remains a small glimmer of hope in Guggenheim's admission, though fans will just have to wait until the crossover is done with to see what happens.

You can check out Guggenheim's original Twitter response below that started this all up.

Arrow-verse’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will kick off on Sunday, December 8 at 8 p.m. with Supergirl, followed by Batwoman and The Flash on December 9 and 10, respectively. The five-part crossover will conclude with Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow on January 14, 2020. In the meantime, be sure to check out our guide to TV shows premiering in the winter and spring of 2020.

Arrow has wrapped filming on the final season, and the stars of the superhero drama have shared lots of heartfelt farewells. It seems like just yesterday that it was announced that Season 8 would be Arrow’s last. Since then, the eighth season has gotten underway and, on-screen, there is still more to come.

Among the things set to go down is the return of Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity for Arrow’s series finale, with an air date for that major episode having already been set. Worth noting is the fact that Rickards will not be the final season’s only return. But, for the cast of Arrow, the journey of filming all of the exciting final season is over.

Taking to Twitter, Arrow’s co-showrunner, Marc Guggenheim, commemorated the last day of production. Guggenheim posted the following farewell message on behalf of himself and fellow Arrow showrunner, Beth Schwartz. It reads:

When it came to Stephen Amell saying goodbye, he posted a particularly heartfelt picture and caption on Instagram as the final week of filming got underway. The actor, who recently took on his fiercest enemy yet, posted this before the final day of filming on Arrow. Check it out:

As for the last day of filming, Stephen Amell kept things to the point with a poignant message posted on Twitter. No picture accompanied it. Here is what the Oliver Queen actor had to say about finishing filming on Arrow:

Original Arrow cast member (and potential spinoff star) David Ramsey shared a great post on social media. Ramsey’s message came as he prepared to get started on the final day of filming Arrow. He did so in a very cool way for fans! Check it out:

Katie Cassidy Rogers has worn many hats since starting on Arrow, and the actress commemorated her final day of filming as Laurel Lance/Earth-2 Black Canary. On Twitter, Cassidy Rogers posted this moving message complete with a heartfelt photo. Here it is:

Over on Instagram, Katie Cassidy Rogers struck a pose with her long-time Arrow co-star Willa Holland. Despite a lot of questions surrounding their characters’ survival at different points, both original Arrow cast members are still around for the final season. Check it out:

Speaking of original cast members, Colin Donnell played Oliver’s best friend, Tommy Merlyn. He is back for the last season. It is a return that has been promised in a significant way. The actor shared his thoughts and feelings about finishing Arrow with this emotional post:

Colton Haynes took to Instagram to pour his heart out about the last day of filming on Arrow. The actor, who plays Roy Harper/Arsenal, shared an emotional message in the caption and a lot of photos. Be sure to slide over to see them all!

Echo Kellum, who plays tech genius, Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific, shared his thoughts on the final day of filming Arrow. Kellum left the show before being among those to return for the final season. On Twitter, the actor posted a tender message after Arrow wrapped production. It said:

Rick Gonzalez reflected on the last day of filming on Arrow with an emotional post. In it, the actor chronicles his journey to joining the show as Rene Ramirez /Wild Dog. Arrow fans will want to read it all! Check it out:

Arrow’s Juliana Harkavy opted to post something a bit different for the last day of filming. The actress, who plays Dinah Drake/Black Canary, turned singer for an emotional farewell song tribute to Arrow. Take it away, Harkavy!

She has a spinoff to look forward to, but that does not mean saying goodbye to Arrow is not tough. Katherine McNamara, who plays Felicity and Oliver’s grown-up daughter Mia, shared her thoughts on wrapping the show on which she originated the role. See it here:

Joseph David-Jones seemed to allude to Arrow’s final week of filming on his Instagram. A few days ago, the actor, who plays adult Connor Hawke, posted a hopeful message as the end of shooting grew near for Arrow. Check it out:

To close things out, check out Arrow producer and director James Bamford’s poignant tweet as Arrow filmed the final shot of its series finale. The post is punctuated by a highly emotional Pokémon GIF that will likely tug on the already raw heartstrings of Arrow fans. Here it is:

If your emotions are running high, remember that there is still more Arrow to come! The final episode’s script title has been released, and there is the giant “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover to anticipate. The end is near but is not yet here!

New episodes of Arrow will air this fall on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. The series finale will bow on Monday, January 28, at 9 p.m. ET. You can currently stream past seasons of Arrow on Netflix along with other new content.

Headed into its eighth and final season, Arrow will continue its Season 7 tradition of flash-forwards instead of the classic flashbacks. With Oliver Queen called upon to work alongside The Monitor in the present, the future is still in the hands of New Team Arrow and Oliver’s children, William and Mia. Now that it seems like the series will focus a lot more on 2040, “Team Arrow 2.0” will get a lot more time to deal with personal things.

The farewell tour for Arrow has already begun and consulting producer and former series showrunner, Marc Guggenheim, spoke with TVLine about the show’s final season and what the future Team Arrow will be dealing with.

It's vague and doesn't offer much, but it could mean that the team, which includes Zoe, William, Mia, and Diggle's adopted son Connor, will have time to deal with their personal lives and reflect on what they've already been through. They probably won't spend entire episodes doing that, though. After all, Star City is still in disarray and there’s still a lot left to do. However, it seems like they’ll have a lot more space to explore other aspects of their lives. Not every second will be filled with action, I’m sure.

Arrow introduced the adult version of William, played by Ben Lewis, in the Season 7 premiere. He had been estranged from his dad and stepmom, Felicity, for several years before he received a signal that took him first to the island of Lian Yu and back to Star City. That’s where he met his half-sister Mia, played by Shadowhunters actress Katherine McNamara. Mia’s existence had remained a secret to everyone except for Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, and Nyssa. It’s an impressive feat considering that, historically, no one in the Arrow-verse is all that great at keeping secrets for that long.

In the present timeline, Stephen Amell’s Oliver will be carrying out The Monitor’s mission. Although it’s unclear exactly what that will be, his apprenticeship, for lack of a better word, will lead right into the crossover, “Crisis on Infinite Earths." Oliver thinks he’ll be executing the mission alone, but David Ramsey, who plays Diggle, strongly hinted that he might be helping Oliver.

That’ll be nice to see, especially since Diggle and Oliver have been close since the very first episode of Arrow, in spite of some rough patches along the way. The only one missing the action is Emily Bett Rickards’ Felicity, who exited the series at the end of Season 7 to pursue other projects. Though her leaving seemed final, the producers have acknowledged how strange it is that she won’t be around for Season 8. It was a relief, however, that the writers decided to give her a great ending instead of choosing to kill her off.

Arrow Season 8 premieres on a new day and time on Tuesday, October 15 at 9 p.m. ET on the CW. Be sure to check out our complete guide to all the new and returning Fall TV shows.

Arrow made big news back in March with the reveal that its eighth season will also be its last. The final season will air in the same TV season as the gigantic "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that will air over episodes of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman, with a little bit of Black Lightning thrown into the Arrow-verse for the first time. "Crisis" is by far the biggest and most ambitious endeavor of the Arrow-verse so far, which led many fans to speculate that Arrow was only renewed for Season 8 to set up the crossover.

The rumor that Arrow Season 8 is all about "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was at least partly fueled by the fact that Arrow is ending after only ten episodes, which means it won't last very long after the crossover airs. The departure of leading lady Emily Bett Rickards added fuel to the first of speculation that the show got a late renewal for "Crisis" and no other reason. Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim addressed the idea that Season 8 exists because of "Crisis," saying this:

According to Marc Guggenheim in his comments to TVLine, even the scale of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" wouldn't be enough for a network to justify a whole extra season for a show. It would be a bit of a stretch to give the go-ahead for another whole season of a show for the sake of a crossover that would only need one of its episodes, no matter that the eighth season will only run for ten episodes.

The rumor that Arrow Season 8 was happening because of "Crisis" did feel at least somewhat feasible, especially considering reveals that may point to a lot of Oliver's story going down in service of the crossover.

That said, the "Elseworlds" crossover made Oliver Queen necessary for "Crisis on Infinite Earths," and "Elseworlds" filmed back in Fall 2018. If Arrow had ended in the spring with the Season 7 finale, then either the ending would have to leave Oliver available to turn up for "Crisis" or somehow yank Oliver out of "Crisis" despite his deal with The Monitor in "Elseworlds."

The "Crisis" crossover does mean that Arrow will get to go out with a bang. If not for the crossover and Oliver's deal with The Monitor, Arrow would have had to find a different way to split Oliver and Felicity, and another way might have had to be more tragic.

Apparently Stephen Amell Wanted Arrow To End Back In Season 7

Oliver is already built as the hero of "Crisis," considering he's presumably making a big sacrifice for the sakes of Barry, Kara, and others. Isn't it only fitting if the biggest crossover in the history of the Arrow-verse showcases the hero of the show that started it all?

The final season is allowing Arrow to bring back some long-gone characters, including a certain fan-favorite. Marc Guggenheim and Co. also already came up with the final scene of the series, and fans could be quite satisfied with it.

A big question at this point is whether fan speculation about a spinoff will prove correct, even if the speculation of Season 8 being about "Crisis" was off. The next generation of heroes seems primed to anchor a show, and David Ramsey told CinemaBlend some interesting things about potential spinoffs.

Find out what's in store when Arrow returns for its eighth and final season on The CW in the fall, along with a whole bunch of other premieres in the not-too-different future.

The eighth and final season of Arrow is still months away from premiering on The CW, but executive producer Marc Guggenheim already knows how Oliver Queen's journey in the Arrow-verse is going to end. This is the show that launched an entire unique universe of shows on The CW, and it's a universe that could keep growing and honoring Arrow's legacy even after the final credits roll. So, what will the final scene of Arrow involve?

As you probably expect, Marc Guggenheim wasn't spilling the plot details to CinemaBlend and other press outlets at San Diego Comic-Con, but he did reveal how he came up with the series finale ending. Here's how he put it:

The final episode of Arrow hadn't yet come together when Marc Guggenheim wrote the final scene of the series, according to Guggenheim himself, and it's all thanks to that morning meditation. Based on his comments, the final scene almost sounds like more of a tag or an epilogue than anything else, if it can exist "almost independent" of whatever else could go on in the finale.

Interestingly, this makes Arrow one of now two long-running shows on The CW that are wrapping up in the 2019-2020 TV season and that have already figured out their final scenes, even if the rest of the final seasons haven't been penned just yet. The Supernatural cast seems at peace with what's happening, even if they did have some trouble with it at first; how does the Arrow team feel about the final scene?

It's more difficult to predict what could be in store for the last moments of the last episode Arrow. The finale airs after the conclusion of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover that will be the last crossover event to include the show that started it all. Some fans originally speculated that the Arrow episode of "Crisis" would be the grand finale, but that's not the case. So, whatever monumental changes happen due to "Crisis" could impact how Arrow ends, and we won't know what to expect after "Crisis" for a while.

Throw in the fact that Oliver has made his deal with The Monitor, a future-set spinoff could be launched, there's some Green Lantern mythos to be examined regarding Diggle, and Emily Bett Rickards may or may not be willing to reprise her role as Felicity Smoak, and there are a lot of questions to be answered before Arrow gets to that final scene. Marc Guggenheim's mention of a conversation with Stephen Amell at the very least suggests that Oliver will be in the final scene, so that's something!

We may have a while to wait before we find out what happens following "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and in Arrow's final arc, but we do know who will be directing the final two episodes of the series. Stunt guru and director James Bamford also spoke with CinemaBlend and others at SDCC, and he revealed that he'll be directing the ninth and tenth episodes of Arrow Season 8, on top of the season premiere. This means that the penultimate episode and the last ever episode of Arrow are in Bamford's hands.

So, naturally, James Bamford is in on what Marc Guggenheim has in mind for the final scene of the show. He said this about the series finale:

Alas, James Bamford did not just go right ahead and show us the final scene of the series, but all signs point toward a scene that can close out the series independent of the rest of the episode. Will it be what fans want for the last scene of what turned out to be arguably the most game-changing series in The CW's history? That remains to be seen.

A lot likely depends on what Arrow is able to accomplish in the nine episodes leading up to the finale. The show is already bringing back a bunch of past faces, including two actors whose characters are quite definitively dead by this point. Another character who is very much alive is not yet confirmed to return, although there are reasons to be optimistic. There are flash-forwards, potential flashbacks, builds to "Crisis," loose ends to tie off, questions to answer, and more.

We can only hope that Arrow is a great finished product before that final scene kicks off and ideally delivers some kind of happy ending for Oliver Queen. Just because he won't be totally miserable in Season 8 doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve an unambiguously happy ending! Surely Oliver can have a happy ending, even if the Supernatural guys might not!

Find out when Arrow returns for its eighth and final season in October. The rest of the Arrow-verse except for Legends of Tomorrow will hit the airwaves in October as well, including the first episode of Batwoman, which will be part of the "Crisis" crossover that eventually brings Legends back in 2020. And those are only some of the many shows coming to television in the not-too-distant future!

Oliver Queen will not be wearing his wedding ring when Arrow Season 8 begins. That news will undoubtedly concern “Olicity” shippers. Hold on before you get too down in the dumps over the seemingly disheartening development. There is a reason for it, and none of it sounds like it has to do with Oliver moving on.

Oliver still has Felicity exactly where she should be: on his mind. As for his ever-symbolic wedding ring, there is a story to its absence. Discussing Arrow’s eighth and final season, Stephen Amell gave this update about how Oliver rings in Season 8, telling TV Guide:

Oliver putting his ring back on should be quite a moment for Oliver and Felicity fans. Arrow will be without the power couple for the show’s final season, so this at least keeps her present. The huge question is why Oliver cannot wear his ring in the Season 8 premiere, yet he can in the next episode.

The mystery of Oliver’s missing ring goes even deeper. Arrow’s showrunner Marc Guggenheim took to Twitter to weigh in on its absence while responding to a fan. He also cleared up its status moving forward. Guggenheim wrote:

What is this “story-specific” reason? Arrow fans will have to tune in to learn for sure. Could it be an emotionally-charged decision? It makes sense that looking at it may be too painful for Oliver, who is separated from Felicity. It may serve as a reminder of the family he is missing, which also includes son William and daughter Mia.

Another possibility is there is something that makes it physically impossible. Could Oliver need to take it off for the sake of a fight sequence, or perhaps an undercover mission? Or could some kind of curse-like situation interfere with making it wearable? Magic does exist in the Arrow-verse nowadays! Stay tuned.

Fans knew that the husband and wife were going to be separated in Season 8. Emily Bett Rickards left Arrow last season, taking Felicity with her via a poignant ending storyline. Rickards’ absence is going to be felt. Talking about the direction of Season 8 at the 2019 Summer TCA Press Tour, Stephen Amell said:

Stephen Amell’s comments track with what David Ramsey (John Diggle), previously shared about making Season 8 without Emily Bett Rickards. Arrow will wrap up its storied run with 10 episodes, which include that epic “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Arrow-verse crossover. Here is hoping that Amell gets his top choice to appear in it.

The somewhat silver lining is that Oliver will not be miserable in Arrow Season 8, according to Stephen Amell. This, despite him being separated from his family. Ring or no ring, Oliver Queen is coming back for a final season of his solo series. Time will tell if it is really the end for him.

After this summer’s premieres, Arrow will return for its final season with its Season 8 premiere on Tuesday, October 15, at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. For now, you can watch the series’ past seasons on Netflix, among other premieres. Enjoy it while you can! It will not be possible forever.

The Arrow-verse on The CW is poised to lose the show that started it all by the end of the 2019-2020 TV season. Arrow will wrap up after its upcoming eighth season, which will be by far the shortest of the series to date. The Season 7 finale ended on a reveal that seemingly points toward Oliver departing the entire Arrow-verse in a way that can't just be undone with time travel, and that raises the question: is Arrow's series finale really the end of Oliver Queen?

Members of the Arrow team spoke with CinemaBlend and other outlets at San Diego Comic-Con, and several of them weighed in on the possibility of Oliver returning following the end of Arrow. Let's start with what star Stephen Amell had to say:

In his response to the question of whether he'd return to the Arrow-verse, Stephen Amell gave a shout-out to The Flash star Grant Gustin and Supergirl leading lady Melissa Benoist. Assuming those shows last for another several years, Amell would be willing to return if one of his former fellow Arrow-verse superheroes asked. Arrow and The Flash have been the most closely connected of the Arrow-verse series, so it would be fitting if Barry wanted to reach out to Oliver, wherever Oliver ends up following "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Considering the foreshadowing that Oliver meets his "Crisis" fate because of his "Elseworlds" determination to save Barry and Kara, it would honestly track if either of them felt connected enough to him that they'd want to see him again even years in the future. So, there's no need to despair that Stephen Amell would be unwilling to return if Barry or Kara sends out the call! That said...

Stephen Amell also noted that he's a big fan of "definitive goodbyes," and there's certainly something to be said for endings that really are the end. If Arrow comes to a satisfying conclusion -- and Oliver's ending seems like it has been more or less on the books since "Crisis" was planned -- then perhaps it would be for the best if Oliver's story is finished when the final credits roll on Arrow.

Then again, pretty much everything seems to be possible in the Arrow-verse, so it's possible The Flash or Supergirl or maybe even Legends of Tomorrow or Batwoman could incorporate an Oliver Queen from another Earth than Earth-1, or even from a point in Earth-1 Oliver's timeline before whatever happens in the Arrow series finale. There could be ways to recruit Stephen Amell without destroying the definitive goodbye at the end of Oliver's story.

Of course, it's not just up to Stephen Amell whether or not Oliver Queen ever returns to the Arrow-verse following the end of Arrow. Executive producer Marc Guggenheim weighed in on a potential future for the Arrow-verse's first superhero:

Considering how Arrow was far from guaranteed to be a hit (especially with how different it was from Smallville), nobody could have predicted back in 2012 that the gritty series about the Green Arrow would go on to launch a whole universe of superhero shows.

By the time Arrow goes off the air, the Arrow-verse will be comprised of no fewer than five series. Has anything about Arrow really been predictable? (Other than Oliver's decision to lie about William backfiring horribly. I think we all saw that coming.) It's not impossible for Oliver and Arrow elements to return!

Marc Guggenheim certainly wasn't wrong that the Arrow team did some of the biggest things they once said they wouldn't. Back in the day, for example, the plan was never to include superpowers or big names like Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne.

Superpowers have been part of Arrow more or less since Season 2, Clark Kent has appeared in the Arrow-verse on several separate occasions (and will be played by two different actors in "Crisis"), and Bruce Wayne was Batman before bailing on Gotham to kick off Batwoman. And honestly, who could have ever thought that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" would ever be adapted on The CW?

The executive producer's comments certainly don't guarantee more on the Arrow front even after Arrow ends, but "never say never" is enough of a reason to hope!

David Ramsey, who plays John Diggle on Arrow, shared some insight that could point toward a future for Arrow characters, if not necessarily Oliver Queen. When asked if there are Arrow questions he doesn't want answered in the final season, Ramsey said this:

Arrow may be ending, but that doesn't have to mean the journeys of all the Arrow characters have to be done! Fans have been speculating about a spinoff starring the next generation of Star City-baseed superheroes could happen. After all, a huge chunk of Season 7 was devoted to the adventures of Mia Smoak, William Clayton, and Connor Hawke, and Season 8 flash-forwards will introduce the adult version of Diggle and Lyla's son John Jr.

Could David Ramsey be aged up to have a part to play in a Star City 2040 series as John Diggle? Or could a different kind of spinoff happen as basically just a Green Arrow-less Arrow? Could Diggle take on the mantle of the Green Arrow on a full-time basis? His new suit for Season 8 certainly has a lot of green to it.

Find out when Arrow returns for its eighth and final season this fall, as one of two long-running CW series bowing out in the 2019-2020 TV season.

For certain Arrow fans, there will always be a debate about how the show has handled Katie Cassidy's characters over the years (among some others, perhaps). Everything was coming up black roses in the Season 7 finale, however, with Earth-2's Laurel Lance returning to Team Arrow to face Emiko, only now having switched from Black Siren to Black Canary, the initial persona adopted by Earth-1's Laurel. Looks like we're getting more from Cassidy's revised Black Canary in Season 8, too.

Executive producer and former showrunner Marc Guggenheim confused some fans over the weekend with a tweet showcasing a newly revised outfit for Katie Cassidy in Season 8. Guggenheim initially stated the concept art he shared was meant for Black Siren, even though the actual image very clearly states that it's of Black Canary. (As if that mask and weapon choice didn't give it away already.) Check out how he corrected himself...or did he?

The easiest assumption to make here is that Marc Guggenheim has been so used to referring to Katie Cassidy as Black Siren that he botched that first tweet. The concept image was likely meant to get shared with fans at San Diego Comic-Con, with timing issues keeping it from going public at the event. Given how hectic SDCC is, especially for the various panelists getting shuffled around, Guggenheim probably just had a slip of the thumb.

But then, because this is Arrow, where informational subterfuge is part of the war games, that actually could be a shot of Black Siren's new costume, which is just meant to call back to Black Canary's. The name on the concept art easily could have been doctored, too.

Of course, Katie Cassidy once again reverting back to the role of Black Siren wouldn't do much to explain why she ends up in a vigilante group in 2040 known as the "Canary Network," and not the "Siren Network." Sometimes you just have to let logic take the wheel, even for a franchise that is frugal with its embrace of logic.

To speak of the new look itself, the suit adds some striking yellow accents, which manage to bring to mind one of Black Canary's comic outfits, but without mimicking it at all. It looks more like a tactical police suit than a super-character's get-up, but at least it's sensible enough for battle and isn't all about showing off as much skin as possible. (Melissa Benoist is extremely pleased that Supergirl's titular heroine no longer wears a skirt.)

All that said, I'm pretty sure back when Black Siren was first introduced on Arrow (after debuting on The Flash, she would have laughed out loud at the thought of one day wearing that suit. She was pretty harsh, guys.

How will Laurel Lance's return to the Black Canary persona be affected by the season premiere, titled "Starling City," which could possibly mess with Arrow's timelines? Will her and Dinah Drake's relationship in the present and/or the future be affected by the upcoming "Crisis on Infinite Earths" mega-crossover event?

The Hilarious Black Canary Accident That Never Made It In To Arrow's Blooper Reels

Arrow will be spending its final season in style, and Black Canary is only part of the fun. It was previously announced that former stars Colin Donnell and Josh Segarra will be back to reprise the roles of Tommy Merlyn and Adrian "Prometheus" Chase in quite different ways. At San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Susanna Thompson will be returning in the Season 8 premiere as Oliver's mother Moira Queen, who hasn't been seen since Season 5's finale.

While fans will be waiting a lot longer to find out whether or not Emily Bett Rickards will make a return to Arrow as Felicity, we can at least look forward to almost certainly watching Katie Cassidy kick some more ass as Black Canary in Season 8.

Joining a fall season that is already stacked with big shows, Arrow's final season will kick off on The CW on Tuesday, October 15, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Arrow-verse's annual crossover in 2018 managed to combine Barry and Oliver switching bodies, the introduction of Batwoman and Gotham City, the debut of Monitor and lead-in to a huge event in the fall, and of course the arrival of John Wesley Shipp's version of Barry Allen. DC TV fans could get a kick out of seeing Shipp back in the suit from his stint as the superhero in his 90s series, and as it turns out, Arrow-verse producer Marc Guggenheim counts Shipp's involvement and impact as his favorite aspect of "Elseworlds."

In this exclusive clip from a feature soon to be available with the Flash Season 5, Supergirl Season 4, and Arrow Season 7 season passes, Marc Guggenheim talks John Wesley Shipp. Take a look!

Marc Guggenheim is former showrunner and current consulting producer of Arrow, and his comments indicate that John Wesley Shipp's involvement in the "Elseworlds" crossover was a very big deal to him, which is something plenty of Arrow-verse fans can undoubtedly relate to. It was already fun to see Shipp on The Flash as Earth-1 Henry Allen (R.I.P.) and Earth-3 Jay Garrick, but there was something special about seeing him play Earth-90 Barry Allen for those who remember him from his time as Barry Allen on his own Flash series.

As if that's not enough, "Elseworlds" effectively confirms that the events of the 90's Flash series are canon in the Arrow-verse, and just happened on an Earth than none of the Earth-1 or Earth-38 heroes had reason to visit!

To see more about the "Elseworlds" crossover, you can find the full extra content piece with any digital season pass purchase for The Flash Season 5, Supergirl Season 4, and Arrow Season 7 beginning on Friday, December 14. For more all about the "Elseworlds" crossover and how John Wesley Shipp was pivotal to the plot, read on! Warning: spoilers ahead for all three legs of the "Elseworlds" crossover.

John Wesley Shipp's Flash breached his way over to Earth-1 from the devastated Earth-90 with a warning for our heroes. He told them that a "crisis" is coming thanks to The Monitor, who has been using "elseworlds" created by the dangerous Book of Destiny, testing various universes to see if there's one capable of withstanding an upcoming attack. That attack will almost certainly come from the legendary DC Comics villain known as The Anti-Monitor.

The good guys get the idea that they can use the Book of Destiny to re-rewrite reality and fix what Dr. Deegan changed after being given the Book by The Monitor. Unfortunately, The Monitor shows up to snag the book and make John Wesley Shipp's Flash disappear, effectively taking him out of the fight where he could have been a massive help to Oliver, Barry, and Kara.

The good news is that Earth-90 Flash's warning was enough to get the heroes in motion to come up with a plan to stop Deegan from permanently altering their reality beyond repair, although they wouldn't pull it off without Oliver turning to The Monitor to make a deal with potentially devastating consequences, and Superman (and Lois Lane) dropping by Earth-1 to lend a hand. Without Earth-90 Flash, who knows what would have happened?

For now, we have to hope that the Arrow-verse finds another reason to bring John Wesley Shipp back as Earth-90 Flash. None of the good guys of Arrow, The Flash, or Supergirl are likely eager to repeat any of what happened in "Elseworlds," but they may not have a choice once Fall 2019 rolls around. The big crossover cliffhanger revealed that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is on the way.

Be sure to check out Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl's current seasons on digital via season pass to keep up with the superhero series as well as access extra content. All of the Arrow-verse shows are currently on their midseason breaks, so what better time to rewatch and re-experience the action of the 2018-2019 TV season so far?

When it was first announced that Gotham City and Batwoman would be introduced in the Arrow-verse's "Elseworlds" crossover, many wondered if Batman would appear in some way. Marc Guggenheim recently confirmed that won't be happening in this crossover, and now we're learning why the caped crusader is absent. Caroline Dries, who consulted on "Elseworlds" as the executive producer of the upcoming Batwoman series, revealed the Dark Knight has been missing from Gotham's action for quite some time.

That's right, Gotham City has been without its savior Batman for three years. Of course, they've still got Batwoman to help stop the constant chaos that creeps up around town, but the lack of the Bat-family's head honcho has resulted in Gotham City's quality of life taking an immense nosedive. Let's be honest, things aren't that great when Batman is working, so this Gotham may be a real armpit.

Marc Guggenheim confirmed as much, telling EW he told Stephen Amell Gotham City basically isn't a city. Guggenheim even compared the town to another city in the Arrow-verse, with the difference being it's much, much worse.

The "Elseworlds" crew was willing to admit Batman is missing ahead of the crossover, but did not mention the status of Bruce Wayne. The character has been mentioned in Arrow-verse shows over the years, which could mean he's still kicking around Gotham City even if his alter ego is in deep hibernation. That said, The CW's president Mark Pedowitz stated months ago that Batman has not been discussed or planned for the Batwoman series, so having him in town as Wayne during "Elseworlds" could be a bit weird.

As far as what the Arrow-verse world at large thinks of Batman, it was also revealed that those outside Gotham City question his very existence. Batman will be discussed by Kara, Barry, and Oliver at some point during "Elseworlds," and each hero will take a different stance on the caped crusader. Barry has a strong desire to meet him, while Oliver is concerned about another vigilante hero. Could this be a tease to a future confrontation between Oliver and Bruce in a future crossover?

The "Elseworlds" crossover kicks off on The CW Sunday, December 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET with a special episode of The Flash. For more on other things coming to television around that time and beyond, visit our fall and midseason premiere guides.

After two bizarre trailers from The CW this week teasing the "Elseworlds" crossover, a lot of questions are being answered regarding the upcoming Arrow-verse special. Those who guessed that Earth 1's Barry Allen and Oliver Queen had swapped lives were correct, but there's so much more to the story than that. It turns out this whole scheme is the work of Arkham Asylum doc John Deegan, who kicks the story off by "rewriting reality."

The plot thickens as the mysterious Arkham Asylum doctor is revealed to be the cause of Barry and Oliver's switcharoo. How does he do that exactly? That much is unclear, although EW's reveal does show how Gotham City will work its way into the picture. It seems as though the flip-flopped heroes will have to go through Gotham to get to the bottom of what led to their switch.

Though Barry and Oliver swapped lives and powers, fans won't get to see the two men doing a bit of role-playing in each other's shoes. Grant Gustin confirmed he won't be emulating Stephen Amell's mannerisms or vice versa. That makes sense considering they're both their regular selves, although it is a bit disappointing to hear that fans may not get to see Gustin attempt the iconic salmon ladder routine.

The report also confirmed the heroes are the only two people on their Earth who seem to realize it, which is where Supergirl comes into the picture. For some reason, she's able to recognize them and understand that things aren't as they seem. This leads to some scenes between the three, which Marc Guggenheim mentioned was rare in last year's crossover.

It's a positive side effect of the "Elseworlds" crossover's decision to exclude the Legends of Tomorrow. The series was left out of the fun this year, as Guggenheim added that the exclusion put less stress on creating and filming a fourth hour and a crossover with a larger cast. That said, Guggenheim revealed the show wasn't left entirely out of the loop and that hour three of the crossover will feature a Legends cameo.

It was also revealed that "Elseworlds" will feel more episodic than last year's "Crisis On Earth-X." Todd Helbing said each episode will feel like its respective show, meaning The Flash will feel like The Flash and so on and so forth. The result is a crossover Grant Gustin is especially proud of.

For all that was revealed about the "Elseworlds" crossover, there's still a lot to learn. For example, how will the other heroes like Batwoman and Superman work their way into the adventure? Will The Monitor be in cahoots with John Deegan? Is Gotham City on Earth 1?

Arrow-verse fans still have some time to wait, as the "Elseworlds" crossover officially kicks off Sunday, December 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET with a special episode of The Flash. For a look at what else is happening on television around that time and beyond, visit our fall and midseason premiere guides.

Details about Arrow's upcoming seventh season are still relatively few and far between, but fans have had plenty to speculate about thanks to the Season 6 finale cliffhanger that saw Oliver Queen locked up in prison with a whole bunch of people who would love nothing more than to take him out. Oliver is cruisin' for a bruisin' for as long as he's behind bars, and he'll probably be behind those bars for a while. Arrow's Marc Guggenheim took to social media to tease what Oliver will face when the show returns, sharing this:

On the one hand, eagle-eyed fans won't be too surprised by the fact that this visitor's badge was issued from Slabside Maximum Security Prison. Although the Season 6 finale didn't explicitly name Slabside as Oliver's new home, his new prison garb had "SLABSIDE MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON" stamped on the back. Still, seeing this visitor's badge (courtesy of Marc Guggenheim on Twitter) makes Oliver's plight feel all the more real. Even though we can be confident that Oliver won't actually remain in prison for however much longer Arrow runs on The CW, he certainly seems in for the long haul. It may take something drastic for him to get out of the clink in Season 7.

At this point, it's too soon to say what the I.D. Number 201 may mean. It could be an Easter egg that will make a great deal of sense after the premiere airs, but it could also be a random number the Arrow team decided to assign for this image. More interesting is the expiration date, which is listed as June 31, 2019.

If you did a double take when you saw that date, you weren't the only one. June is, of course, a month with only 30 days, so either the person who created this image made a mistake and nobody noticed until after Marc Guggenheim had already posted it or something is up with the Arrow-verse. Given that there are now three shows in The CW's superhero multiverse that mess with time and routinely wind up with unintended consequences, perhaps the extra day in June is a result of somebody in the West-Allen family taking some liberties with the timeline, the Legends fumbling in their new mission from Constantine, or maybe even Supergirl trying to fix the mess she made at the end of her third season, although that mess may be contained to Earth-38.

If the June 31 is due to some Arrow-verse timeline shenanigans rather than a mistake, you have to feel bad for Team Arrow. The one show that doesn't mess with time has to deal with the consequences. Still, as long as William isn't changed to a Willa a la Diggle and Lyla's daughter being replaced by a son, any timeline tweaks may not impact the good guys of Star City (or Slabside). We'll have to wait and see if the June 31 is indeed something of note. Marc Guggenheim actually won't be back as showrunner for Arrow Season 7, but he's still on board as an executive consultant to new showrunner Beth Schwartz. Only time will tell if he has more teases throughout the rest of hiatus.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in superhero news, and be sure to check out our summer TV premiere schedule for your viewing options while we wait for Arrow to return in a new time slot with new limits on a new night this fall.

While superhero movies are everywhere, there are certain blockbusters that stand out among the rest. One of these is the Deadpool franchise, which has challenged what the genre is capable of, and how much money could be made from an R-Rated comic book flick. And after years of patiently waiting, the Merc with the Mouth returned to the silver screen with Deadpool 2 just last month. The sequel delivered tons of laughs and shocking humor, but none was quite as outrageous as the film's post-credits scene. Traveling back through time, Deadpool finds Ryan Reynolds right before he was going to sign the contract for the ill-fated Green Lantern movie, and puts him out of his misery with a bullet to the head. It was savage and hilarious, and now Green Lantern writer Marc Guggenheim has finally responded to the joke, after seeing the movie in theaters.

Looks like Marc Guggenheim was able to take the jokes in stride, and laugh off Ryan Reynolds throwing serious shade at the Green Lantern movie. Since that flick came out back in 2011, everyone seems to have spent enough time mourning what could have been, and therefore are able to poke fun at the critically panned superhero film.

Before shared universes had become en vogue, DC Studios and Warner Bros. brought the Green Lantern to the silver screen for the first time. Ryan Reynolds starred as pilot turned hero Hal Jordan, and other classic DC characters were included like Sinestro and Amanda Waller. While it seemed to set up a sequel, the film barely recouped its investment at the box office, and was a critical failure.

Of course, there was one good thing about Ryan Reynolds' involvement in Green Lantern: it's how he met future wife Blake Lively. Lively starred as romantic interest Carol Ferris, and the two began dating while working together on set. So while Reynolds was ultimately meant for greater superheroic journeys, he can't be that mad about his role in the flop considering how his life turned out.

Part of what makes the Deadpool franchise resonate so closely with the fans is how it's constantly cross referencing and poking fun at the comic book genre. Deadpool 2 certainly delivered this in spades, making jokes at the DC Extended Universe, X-Men franchise, and Marvel Cinematic Universe throughout the course of its runtime. Considering Reynolds' past in the genre, fans are especially eager to see him poke fun at Green Lantern. He delivered just that, and the Deadpool 2 post credits scene is considered one of the sequel's strongest.

Deadpool 2 is in theaters now, complete with that fantastic Green Lantern gag. Be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Arrow got some great news recently when The CW went public with the announcement that the long-running vigilante series was renewed for Season 7. Unfortunately, not everyone with the show will be involved in the same capacities. Arrow-verse figurehead Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle are stepping down as Arrow's co-showrunners, with co-executive producer Beth Schwartz filling the role as the lone showrunner for the seventh season. The changes don't end there, either.

Putting his Arrow showrunning duties in the rear-view mirror for the first time since the show started in 2012, Marc Guggenheim is also stepping back from his co-showrunner duties on Legends of Tomorrow, where Phil Klemmer will remain in charge of the day to day duties for Season 4. Guggenheim will be taking on an executive consultant title for both Arrow and Legends' future seasons. (It sounds somewhat similar to how The Walking Dead's now-former showrunner Scott Gimple took on an overarching role above the franchise's creative teams.) So you can bet Guggenheim will still have a big influence on the bigger arc directions, even if he won't be quite as hands-on as he was before.

Wendy Mericle, on the other hand, won't be involved with the new season at all, as she is exiting the Arrow-verse in its entirety. Mericle was a writer and producer for Arrow when she was promoted to co-showrunner in Season 4, and she oversaw some of Team Arrow's most tumultuous years. We have yet to see how she and Guggenheim capped the team's sixth year off, but we aren't expecting lots of hugging and apologies from the embattled Diggle and Oliver.

Beth Schwartz's promotion is understandably being embraced by the crew, at least that's how Arrow-verse boss Greg Berlanti put it, according to THR. She's been working with Berlanti since his Everwood days, where she served as his assistant. She joined Arrow as a writer's assistant years ago, and has only climbed up and moved forward ever since. Since this will be the first season without Marc Guggenheim partly driving things, we can't wait to see what changes Schwartz will bring in when Season 7 goes into production.

For what it's worth, these changes are only affecting Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, while the rest of The CW's superhero shows will be maintaining their current showrunner structures. It wasn't that long ago, don't forget, that former Arrow-verse exec Andrew Kreisberg was fired from his showrunning duties after workplace misconduct complaints were made. But for now, it's work as usual for The Flash, Supergirl and Black Lightning.

With several episodes left to cap the season off, Arrow Season 6 airs Thursday nights on The CW at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see what other shows will be around to take its place while we wait for Season 7, head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer premiere schedule.

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Arrow episode "The Thanatos Guild." Read at your own risk!

Arrow fans were warned that the return episode "The Thanatos Guild" would change the show forever, and it certainly did, with major character Thea Queen leaving the series with Roy Harper and Nyssa Al Ghul to track down three remaining Lazarus pits that remained in the world. Fans may have been surprised by the departure, but for Arrow's cast and Marc Guggenheim, actress Willa Holland's leaving was a long time coming. Guggenheim went into detail as to why the show said goodbye to Thea, and why this might be the last time fans will see her in the series:

Willa Holland's desire to have a life outside of Arrow hasn't been a huge secret to fans of the show, and Marc Guggenheim and others have been pretty upfront about why her presence has dwindled in past seasons. Guggenheim went on to say that while he and the writers would've loved to have Holland stick around as Thea, he understood that after five-plus years on Arrow, some actors are going to want to move on and do other things.

Marc Guggenheim gave zero hints of ill will towards Willa Holland's decision to leave, and judging from his quote, it's not as though the crew was completely blindsided by her decision. In the end, both parties came to an understanding and the writers were able to give Thea a proper exit that satisfied both Holland's wishes and gave fans a rare happy-ish ending in Arrow. Plus, Roy!

Thea's ending definitely set up the possibility that she could one day return to Arrow, although Marc Guggenheim said that decision is really up to Willa Holland herself. Thea's open ending may have been crafted so the Arrow writers could leave that door open should Holland ever wish to return, but more likely than not, fans got a peaceful ending because Guggenheim has been adamant throughout the show's run that he would never kill Thea Queen. Guggenheim expressed that once again in his interview with EW, and said that while many endings were considered for Thea, death was not one of them:

For now, Arrow will press on without Willa Holland and air on The CW on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. For a look at other superhero shows that are making their way to television soon, visit our superhero premiere guide. Those wishing to see a full picture of what television shows are premiering in 2018 can find out with our midseason premiere guide and summer premiere guide.

The Arrow-verse has always loved to drop references to iconic DC heroes. From Arrow's reference to Nightwing's home turf in Bludhaven to the more recent name drop of Bruce Wayne in Season 6, it often sounds to some like the folks behind the show have teased a more prominent Justice League presence. Does this mean that we should expect heavy hitters like Batman actually to show up? According to Arrow-verse executive producer Marc Guggenheim, these moments are more like fun Easter eggs, rather than real promises of any significant hero debuts. Guggenheim explained:

If you have seen the recent Crisis on Earth-X crossover between the Arrow-verse shows, then you likely already know that there's no shortage of heroes in The CW's DC universe. Other properties like Gotham and the DCEU have Batman, so while Marc Guggenheim and the folks behind Arrow can use the name, actual access to the character is somewhat limited. This conundrum means seeing big names like Green Lantern (who has been teased several times) or Batman in any capacity other than a subtle nod isn't something that you should get your hopes up for anytime soon.

That said, this still doesn't explain why we can see duplicates of certain other characters while other heroes or villains don't have that opportunity. Only recently we learned that Manu Bennett's Slade Wilson was off of the table for Arrow to use now that Joe Manganiello's version of the super soldier has debuted in Justice League, but that doesn't explain why we can have two versions of Superman or even two versions of The Flash.

In fact, it sounds like many of these name drops stem more from DC's willingness to let Marc Guggenheim and the other folks behind the Arrow-verse have fun with the references, rather than any long-term plans to incorporate them. Guggenheim continued his discussion with Comicbook.com and explained:

Arrow will return to The CW from its midseason hiatus on Thursday, January 18 at 9 p.m. ET. Looking beyond The Emerald Archer's solo series, you can also check out our midseason premiere guide to see what other shows are going to debut over the next few months and listen to the most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear what we're currently discussing in the world of streaming content.

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Mark Hamill is a legend of the large and small screens alike, with performances in both live-action and animation that have won him fans everywhere. In fact, there was one character in his long career that was originally intended to be killed off. Hamill recently made his debut in the second season of a TV show that featured him playing yet another bad guy, although this one isn't nearly as brutally bonkers as his version of the Joker. No, his character on Netflix's Trollhunters is the troll baddie by the name of Dictatious. Trollhunters executive producer Marc Guggenheim told CinemaBlend about the original plan for the character:

Trollhunters upped the ante on villains in Season 2 by bringing Gunmar and his followers out of the Darklands and into Jim's world, and Dictatious was a deeply personal villain for the Trollhunters. He's Blinky's brother, who Blinky (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) had thought died a long time ago. Poor Blinky had no idea that Dictatious had actually chosen to side with the evil Gunmar rather than stick with the good trolls of Trollmarket. The two brothers crossed paths for the first time in many years in Season 2. Although Dictatious gave Blinky a pretty rough treatment at first, Blinky ultimately came out on top by blinding his brother with a flare.

Blindness wasn't enough to put Dictatious on the sidelines, however, and he found new ways to scheme against Blinky and his pals. All things considered, Dictatious had a significant role in Season 2 of Trollhunters, and it's difficult to imagine how different the season would have been if Mark Hamill hadn't been so fantastic that Marc Guggenheim and Co. decided not to kill the character. Oddly enough, Dictatious also delivered a lot of laughs in Season 2, villainy aside. Trollhunters definitely had fun with the concept of a blind troll emerging from the Darklands many, many years after being trapped there. He was out of place in every way, but still delightfully evil.

All of this said, Mark Hamill is obviously best known nowadays for his work as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, and he recently returned to the role in a big way with The Last Jedi. Marc Guggenheim went on in our chat to say this about Hamill as a voice actor rather than a Jedi knight:

Interestingly, there's one specific way that Trollhunters Season 2 was inspired by The Empire Strikes Back, and it's one that not everybody might have guessed. There's still one season of Trollhunters left before the adventures come to an end, so hopefully we'll get more of Mark Hamill as the dastardly Dictatious. If you're still not entirely sold on Trollhunters, swing by our rundown of big reasons why viewers are bound to love it.

You can catch both seasons of Trollhunters streaming on Netflix now. Our 2018 Netflix premiere guide can reveal your streaming options in the new year. If you haven't set your TV schedule for 2018 just yet, take a gander at our midseason TV premiere guide for when everything will hit the airwaves.

The long-awaited second season of Trollhunters has finally been released on Netflix to tell more of the tales of Jim, his friends, and a whole bunch of trolls around the town of Arcadia. The Emmy-winning animated series comes from the minds of Guillermo del Toro as well as Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim. The voice cast boasts the likes of Kelsey Grammer, the late Anton Yelchin, Clancy Brown, Steven Yeun, and (new to Season 2) Mark Hamill himself. I spoke to Trollhunters executive producer Marc Guggenheim all about the series, so read on for our reasons why you need to watch Trollhunters and what Guggenheim had to say about Season 2! Mild spoilers ahead for Trollhunters Season 2.

The Darklands Look Amazing

Trollhunters Season 1 established the existence of a dark realm separate from Arcadia and filled with all kinds of horrors. The legendary bad guy Gunmar was imprisoned and exiled in the Darklands along with his army of trolls. The series kept out of the Darklands almost entirely in Season 1, but Season 2 takes the action into the Darklands, and the realm looks truly amazing. Marc Guggenheim explained what it took to craft the Darklands in animation for Season 2, saying this:

The Darklands could have been decidedly unimpressive if the Trollhunters team had delved into them in Season 1. Luckily, the delay of the Darklands into Season 2 makes for a fabulously creepy arc.

Season 2 Is A Payoff Of Season 1

Season 1 ended on a pretty exciting cliffhanger, and fans have been waiting almost a full year to find out what happens next for Jim and Co. If Season 2 had kicked off in a way that failed to pay off on the promise of that cliffhanger, the new batch of episodes would have undoubtedly gotten off to an underwhelming start.

Fortunately, Season 2 not only continues the story as it was kicked off in Season 1, but it also addresses some of the questions that went unanswered at the end of Season 1. Whether you've already watched the first season or haven't tried the series just yet, you can trust that Season 2 does pay off on what Season 1 had to offer.

It's Really Funny

Despite the fact that the show does venture into the Darklands and the payoff of the Season 1 cliffhanger is necessarily rather dark, Trollhunters is funnier than ever in Season 2. In fact, Marc Guggenheim has explained that the writers were inspired by the balance of darkness and humor of The Empire Strikes Back in crafting the second season, and the balance is truly rewarding throughout Season 2. Sure, Season 1 was funny, but Season 2 really mines what worked to deliver the laughs the first time around and delivers a lot more.

There's one particular partnership in the second season that few viewers will probably see coming and it may go down as one of the most popular and entertaining twists of the entire saga. Seriously, Season 2 is worth watching just to see these two characters teaming up.

There's An Intriguing Cliffhanger

Trollhunters was recently renewed for a third (and final) season on Netflix, so the story isn't even close to being done. Season 2 ends on a cliffhanger that sets the stage for a season that could potentially even eclipse the first two in scale and scope. There's no sense of a letdown by the end of the final episode. Marc Guggenheim explained how the Trollhunters team worked out the cliffhanger:

You may need to rewind bits of the final episode of Season 2 just to really appreciate what the show managed to pull off. While it would definitely be convenient to already have a third season to start as soon as the second season finale is over, the episode will give plenty to talk about during the next hiatus.

The Stakes Are Higher

While Trollhunters spent the first season raising the stakes higher and higher for Jim and Co., Season 2 really goes above and beyond. The whole gang will face threats they couldn't even conceive during their early adventures in Trollmarket. The combination of humor and tension as the heroes face off against their most formidable foes to date makes for a compelling arc from start to finisht

Of course, the stakes aren't only higher on the Trollmarket/Darklands front. The humans also face new trials and challenges on the home front, and there's more of the teenagers being teenagers in ways that serve to fill out their characters and build suspense when they're endangeredde. New varieties of trolls and a new big bad only make the action better.

It'll Remind You Of Stranger Things

If none of this was enough to convince you that Trollhunters is worth the watch, know this: there are elements of the series that will totally remind you of Stranger Things. The second season of Stranger Things hit Netflix this fall, and there's no saying how long we'll be waiting for Season 3. Trollhunters can provide kids on bikes, adventures with strange creatures, oblivious parents, and even a dark realm that the kids have to visit. Marc Guggenheim commented on the similarities between the two shows:

Trollhunters won't give you Eleven taking out demo-dogs or Steve Harrington whacking Upside Down creatures with his nail-bat, but it will deliver adventures that will totally remind you of Stranger Things, and that's definitely not a bad thing.

You can catch both seasons of Trollhunters streaming on Netflix now. Our 2017 Netflix premiere guide can clue you into the shows that have yet to debut this year, and our 2018 Netflix guide can point you toward what will debut in the new year.

The huge Arrow-verse crossover of 2017 brought together the heroes of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl to battle an invasion of Nazis from Earth-X. While the good guys were ultimately successful in getting rid of the bad guys, it wasn't before they sustained a tragic loss. Martin Stein was killed after being shot by Nazis on Earth-X, dying in the final installment of the four-part crossover. The death made for a heartbreaking twist in an action-packed event. I recently spoke with Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim, and he told me this about the decision to kill Martin rather than write him off:

Martin Stein was always going to leave Legends of Tomorrow sooner rather than later in Season 3, as actor Victor Garber had landed a job that would take him to Broadway on a full-time basis, but we didn't know for quite a long time just how Martin would make his big exit. After all, his daughter had just had a baby, and he spent several episodes of Legends trying to figure out a way to detach from Jax (played by Franz Drameh) so that he could return home to be with his family. At first, it seemed quite possible that Legends would simply come up with a science-y way to separate Firestorm and let Martin return to a quiet life in Central City. Then came the crossover, and fans had to watch the lovable character die.

According to Marc Guggenheim, the decision to kill off Martin Stein had nothing to do with trying to pull off a stunt or gimmick on audiences. Instead, he and the rest of the folks behind the scenes decided to do something that hadn't been done on an Arrow-verse crossover before. Rather than simply repeating a plot twist that had happened in one or more of the past crossovers, "Crisis On Earth-X" killed Martin and left him dead with no time travel shenanigans to save his life. In fact, the very next episode of Legends of Tomorrow addressed the possibility of stopping Martin from doing what he did that resulted in his death. Martin chose not to meddle with time, and Jax chose to depart the Waverider, at least for a time.

As sad as Martin's passing was, the death was at least treated with a great deal of respect in the crossover. All the characters who knew him had the chance to grieve him. Marc Guggenheim went on in our chat to commend the actors for making the death scene so impactful, saying this:

The death of Martin Stein was given the screen time it deserved, and the result was a heartbreaking scene that both gave a major Arrow-verse character a solid sendoff and raised the stakes for all the surviving heroes heading into the crossover's climax. While we could be sure that characters like the good guy versions Oliver, Barry, and Kara weren't going to bite dust, other characters' survival was much less guaranteed, and the danger felt even more real after Martin's death.

We'll have to wait and see if the shows of the Arrow-verse continue to address Martin's death and the loss of Firestorm moving forward. Legends of Tomorrow is actually moving to a new night on The CW for a time in the new year, but all four shows are currently on hiatus. Marc Guggenheim will have a different project debuting a new batch of episodes, however, as Season 2 of Trollhunters will be available on Netflix starting on Friday, December 15 at 12:01 a.m. PT. Guggenheim already explained the specific way Season 2 was inspired by Empire Strikes Back, and the second season should be worth the watch. Don't forget to check out our midseason TV premiere guide as well.

Season 2 of Trollhunters is slated to debut on Netflix this week, and viewers will get to see how the series picks up after the killer Season 1 cliffhanger that saw Jim (voiced by the late Anton Yelchin) travel to the Darklands all by himself, leaving his friends behind out of a fear for losing them. Fans have been waiting for almost a full year to see what happens next, and the wait is fortunately almost over. CinemaBlend recently spoke to Trollhunters executive producer Marc Guggenheim about Season 2, and he revealed this about how Season 2 was impacted by a certain aspect of Empire Strikes Back:

Trollhunters Season 2 was specifically inspired by Empire Strikes Back in how Empire amped up both the humor and the darkness for Luke Skywalker and his pals. Marc Guggenheim's comments indicate that we should see some tonal similarities as the jokes are funnier and the dark moments even darker. Something tells me we won't see Jim lose a limb right before Gunmar reveals that he's secretly Jim's father a la Darth Vader, and I'm definitely guessing that nothing will set the stage for a reveal that Claire and Jim are secretly siblings in the third season. Trollhunters will clearly still go in its own directions, but aspects of Empire Strikes Back did affect the planning for the second season.

The Season 1 finale did really set the stage for more darkness in Season 2, and not just because poor AAARRRGGHH!!! seemed to be gone for good. Jim had promised Claire and his friends that they would all venture into the Darklands together to try and rescue Enrique; his decision to lock his friends out and open the gateway to the Darklands (in his admittedly awesome new Eclipse armor) took him in a much more grim direction. Even if he made his decision out of a desire to protect those he cares about, it was a bold and very dangerous move.

Also, as Marc Guggenheim said in our chat, obviously traveling to a place known as "the Darklands" is going to see an increase in darkness. The odds are pretty good that Jim will encounter creatures more dastardly than he ever came across in Trollmarket or anywhere on the surface, and it's entirely possible that he'll come to regret leaving his friends behind. Only a little bit of the Darklands appeared at the end of Season 1, but it was enough to reveal the scope and scale of the place. Judging by that first look, Jim likely won't have an easy time even finding Enrique, let alone returning him to his family all by his lonesome. At least we can count on an increase in humor!

Marc Guggenheim went on to reveal one of the greatest sources of humor in Season 2: Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead fame. Yeun voices the bully by the name of Steve, and Guggenheim said this about the character in the next batch of episodes:

Even if Jim has to deal with some more grim elements in Season 2, we can count on some laughs courtesy of characters like Steve and Eli. Trollhunters Season 1 really showcased Steven Yeun as a performer who can bring the laughs after his many years of very serious stories on The Walking Dead, and we can expect more of his comedy in Season 2. All things considered, it sounds like we're in for a season balancing fun and darkness a la Empire Strikes Back, and that can only be a good thing.

Trollhunters Season 2 will premiere on December 15 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix. There's still time to watch (or re-watch) the 26 episodes of Season 1 if you're in the mood for a binge. The show was just renewed for a third (and final) season, which means that there will be one more batch of episodes to come following Season 2. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more on Trollhunters! For what you'll be able to watch on broadcast television in the not-too-distant future, be sure to check out our midseason TV premiere guide.

The CW's "Crisis On Earth X" mega-crossover is finished, but the fans want more. Specifically, folks are wanting to know if one of the Arrow-verse's newest heroes, The Ray, will be making a return to television on any of the DC shows following the crossover. Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim said recently they're very open to having Earth 1's version of The Ray back, but it ultimately falls on actor Russell Tovey's availability:

The CW isn't the only place on television Russell Tovey can be seen kicking ass. While he's been on a brief break, Tovey is currently a part of the cast of ABC's Quantico which is set to return for Season 3 in January. So although Marc Guggenheim tells Comicbook he would love to have The Ray kicking as much ass in live-action as he does in his animated series, it's all a matter of Tovey having time in his schedule to be brought back to film an episode or two.

Considering Quantico spent much of last season and the offseason trying to ensure it wouldn't be canceled, it's certainly possible Russell Tovey's schedule may clear up sooner than later. Even if the series ends Season 3 and gets a renewal, the drastically reduced episode count of 13 from the original 22 episode season should open up his availability just a bit for potential Arrow-verse shenanigans. Without Quantico to hold him back, Tovey would be free to make more appearances in DC shows, and maybe even occupy one of those two hero vacancies in Legends of Tomorrow.

Legends of Tomorrow definitely seems like the best bet for Russell Tovey to enjoy a more extended stay in the Arrow-verse, although an appearance on The Flash could happen as well. Arrow and Supergirl are other possibilities of course, but with Arrow being a bit more grounded with its Metas and Supergirl taking place on an Earth separate from the one The Ray is from, they don't seem as likely as the other two.

Russell Tovey can be heard voicing The Ray on CW Seed in Freedom Fighters: The Ray. For more shows that can be watched before the end of 2017, head on over to our fall premiere guide. For a look at what's happening in 2018 and all the great television that awaits us in the new year, visit our midseason premiere guide. For some shows that were canceled before 2017 reached its end, visit our cancellation guide.

While DC's "Crisis On Earth-X" crossover was an exciting romp, it was not without heartbreak. The mega-crossover was particularly hard for Legends of Tomorrow fans as Professor Stein met his end just before officially retiring from his Waverider adventures. This week's midseason finale saw his other half, Jax, leave as well, and now fans are wondering who will step in to replace the two heroes on the ship. While executive producer Marc Guggenheim couldn't be too upfront about what the show has planned, he did confirm that whoever is joining is already a part of the Arrow-verse:

Considering the heroes that are currently available to join the Waverider, that's some very interesting news. One popular theory circling around the web is that John Constantine will be staying along for the ride past his episode arc in the latter half of Season 3, which is great news for anyone that misses his canceled series. While he does typically deal in the occult, John Constantine is known to be a pretty savvy con-man and trickster, and his skills would prove useful to the team beyond the appearances of any demons. Keeping Constantine a part of the crew would be not just an asset to the Waverider, but the show as well, as DC fans would love to see the hero in a more consistent capacity.

As Marc Guggenheim mentioned to Comicbook, there's more than just one slot to fill on the ship. While Constantine is guaranteed a seat on the Waverider for at least a couple of episodes, there's still an empty chair that could very well be filled by The Flash's Wally West. Wally has been largely written out of the Season 4 story of The Flash and is on a journey of self-discovery, and where better to do that than on Legends of Tomorrow? With The Flash writers saying the true reason Wally was written off was due to having too many speedsters to work with, putting Wally on the Waverider is a way to keep the character in front of fans in case they want to bring them back later, while still allowing The Flash to tell its current one-speedster story without constantly giving updates on Wally.

Legends of Tomorrow will return to The CW in 2018, and it is believed it will switch to Monday nights following Supergirl when it returns. For a look at other shows coming in 2018, head on over to our midseason premiere guide. To see what 2017 still has to offer in terms of programming, hit up our fall premiere guide. For a list of shows that were canceled this year, visit our cancellation guide.

James Cameron likes to keep himself busy. Not only is he working on a bunch of Avatar sequels, but he's also been trying to resurrect his struggling Terminator franchise on the big screen. Evidently, Cameron still has room in his schedule because he's trying to turn one of his films into a TV show. Cameron's hit action comedy True Lies is about to make the transition into the world of television.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Fox is making a pilot commitment to a TV reboot of James Cameron's 1994 hit True Lies. Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim is writing the script, which will follow the basic story of the film: the relationship between a husband and wife changes when one of them is revealed to be a spy. 20th Century Fox, who produced the movie through its feature division, will also produce the reboot. McG will serve as executive producer and direct the pilot should the script move forward. Mary Viola and Rae Sanchini (who executive produced the film) will be executive producers.

Most tantalizing though is that James Cameron is on board as an executive producer. Cameron wrote, directed, and produced the original True Lies, so having him attached will no doubt be a big draw for fans of the original film. In a world where broadcast, cable, and streaming outlets are all competing for proven IP, having the original creatives attached becomes more and more of a necessity. This will be Cameron's largest television project to date.

For those who may be familiar, True Lies is a 1994 action comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film follows a stagnant married couple, who receive a new burst of energy when the wife (Curtis) discovers that her boring husband (Schwarzenegger) is secretly a skilled spy and they get roped into an adventure together. True Lies was a hit, grossing $378.8 million worldwide on a budget of $115 million. It's a really fun action movie, and we'll have to see how this story can play out over potentially multiple seasons.

Get a load of the trailer for True Lies. It doesn't do a very good job at all explaining what the actual movie is about, but I guess they felt showing Arnold Schwarzenegger with a flamethrower was enough.

There's no premiere date for the True Lies reboot yet, but stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated. Curious about more TV reboots? Well, there's certainly no drought. Amazon is working on a Starsky and Hutch reboot, while NBC is tinkering away at a live-action The Jetsons and a female-led Greatest American Hero. ABC also has a new adaptation of The Munsters in the works.

As far as cliffhangers on The CW go, Arrow's Season 5 finale pretty much took the cake. Oliver Queen watched in horror as Lian Yu exploded in a ball of fire, leaving the fates of Team Arrow (and Deathstroke) in the balance. This cliffhanger ending naturally presented audiences with a wave of unanswered questions, and though Season 6 will offer a brief update on what happened, Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently revealed that an upcoming tie-in novel will fill in all of the essential information gaps between Season 5 and Season 6.

Despite the fact that Prometheus seems very dead -- point blank gunshots tend to have that effect on people -- it appears that Star City and Team Arrow will still feel his influence going into Season 6. Adrian Chase has a few tricks left up his sleeve, even from beyond the grave, and those obstacles will become the driving force of the upcoming novel, Arrow: Fatal Legacies, which is looking like it'll be released during an Arrow hiatus. The book was written by Marc Guggenheim and author James R. Tuck, and it will help flesh out the story between the past and to-be-current seasons of Arrow, as well as help establish the immediate aftermath of "Lian Yu."

In addition to Marc Guggenheim's initial post about the release of the upcoming tie-in book, the Arrow producer also responded to some critical fan questions about what we can expect in the story. Beyond filling in the gaps after the conclusion of "Lian Yu," the tie-in novel will also reportedly feature fan-favorite Arrow character Vigilante. Recent reports about Season 6 have already confirmed that the character's real identity will likely become more firmly established during the upcoming season arc (and that it will be someone we know), which means critical threads for the reveal will probably be planted in the pages of Fatal Legacies.

It's not necessarily out of the ordinary for the Arrow-verse to expand its overarching arc through non-televised content. We have seen comic books that similarly show the events that transpired between seasons of Arrow, and the Vixen animated series also helped established the Detroit-based badass without giving her an origin story on any of the main DC shows. That said, novelizations are still not the most common way for a TV show to flesh out its story, so we're excited to see how the Arrow novelization will impact Season 6's narrative.

Arrow will return to The CW on Thursday, October 12 at 9 p.m. ET. We will bring you more updates related to the Arrow-verse as they become available, and make sure to check out our summer TV premiere guide to keep yourself informed on all of this season's remaining debuts (such as Marvel's The Defenders) before the fall season rolls around. As for Arrow: Fatal Legacies, the Arrow tie-in novel will hit shelves in January 2018!

Arrow's fifth season laid the groundwork for some insane plot threads in Season 6, but one of the most intriguing of the bunch was the teased reveal of Vigilante. Star City's gun-toting villain/anti-hero has had frequent run ins with Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen over the last year, but his (or her) identity remains a complete mystery. Fans have puzzled over who could be hiding under that tactical mask, but Arrow producer Marc Guggenheim took the stage for the Arrow panel at San Diego Comic-Con to reassure all of us that Vigilante is someone we have seen before.

Such a reveal makes plenty of sense because Arrow has been down this road before. In Season 2 Oliver spent much of the first half of the Deathstroke story arc hunting a mysterious woman in a blonde wig who had taken to the streets to fight men preying on women. Eventually, the storyline paid off in a major way, as the show revealed that Sara Lance was not only alive after the sinking of the Queen's Gambit, but she had taken on the identity of The Canary after receiving training from The League of Assassins and Ra's Al Ghul. The narratives are obviously not completely identical, but it shows a pattern; you do not tease a mystery character and then let audiences down with the reveal of someone entirely new.

Theories on the identity of the masked killer have varied over the course of the last year, ranging from the obvious to the obscure. Among these possible reveals are Tommy Merlyn, Earth-2 Adrian Chase, Lucas Hilton (Quentin Lance's partner who died at the hands Cyrus "Solomon Grundy" Gold in Season 2), or even Star City journalist Susan Williams. There are a wealth of options for the show to choose, but we will have to wait and see what happens when Season 6 finally premieres.

With all of that said and done, who do you think is hiding under Vigilante's mask? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!

Arrow's sixth season will premiere on Thursday, October 12 at 9 p.m. EST on The CW. Make sure to stay tuned for more information related to all of your favorite TV shows (Arrow-verse or otherwise) and check out our summer TV premiere guide for more details on the rest of this season's most highly anticipated small screen debuts!

The end of Arrow Season 5 marked the end of Oliver's flashbacks to his five years of hell, and the series has been opened up to a format that utilizes flashbacks on less of a regular basis. That said, we do already know that Arrow will incorporate flashbacks whenever an episode calls for blasts from the past, and executive producer Marc Guggenheim has revealed that a fan-favorite character will receive flashbacks for the very first time in Season 6. In an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, Guggenheim had this to say about Season 6:

That's right, Slade Wilson himself will be the focus of flashbacks in Season 6. Slade has appeared in flashbacks before, as he was a key figure in the first two years of Oliver's life on Lian Yu. There is a precedent for a villain-turned-antihero flashing back; Deadshot got his own flashbacks in the past. Given that Deadshot totally died at the end of his flashback episode, fans can only hope that the same won't be true for Slade.

Marc Guggenheim's reveal should come as a relief for viewers who were disappointed at Slade's sudden change of heart when he appeared at the end of Season 5. When he appeared in Season 3, he was still wearing his crazypants and set on getting his revenge on Oliver. In Season 5, he simply said that he'd come around to a state of mind that wasn't warped by the need to destroy everything that Oliver holds dear, and he was swayed to help Oliver by the promise of a reunion with his son. Flashbacks could help fill in some of the blanks between vengeful, murderous Slade and helpful, reasonable Slade.

Considering that the theme of Season 6 will be family, we can bet that the flashbacks will feature Slade's son as well. Who knows? Maybe we'll get a look at the mother-to-be of Grant Wilson, who may or may not have a key part to play in the future of Star City. It certainly sounds like Slade will get a fair amount of screen time; not every side character on Arrow can boast being the focus of a two-parter. It's not likely that Manu Bennett became a regular and Slade Wilson will be the next member of Team Arrow -- although he at least would be qualified to hit the streets to fight crime in Star City -- but he'll still be important to the show.

Of course, Oliver may need all the help he can get, if David Ramsey's rather foreboding comments really are hinting at a dire fate for one of the good guys. Besides, Team Arrow will be facing more than just one big bad this time around. If Slade can drop in from time to time to lend a hand and call Oliver "kid," who are we to complain?

Arrow will return to The CW in the fall. Take a look at our summer TV schedule to discover your viewing options now and in the coming weeks.

Pretty much every DC TV series ended last season with a significant shift in status quo, but arguably none felt quite as jarring as Legends of Tomorrow. Sara Lance and her team followed up on all their other rule-thwarting by breaking the timeline and setting up an insane series of events to play out in Season 3. All eyes are on the next round of episodes to change the game when Legends of Tomorrow returns and the newly revealed title of the show's Season 3 premiere hint at our heroes soon facing with some life-altering decisions. Check it out!

Mick Rory made it clear that he wanted to go to Aruba when Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow came to an end, so "Aruba-Con" seems to suggest that the team will finally make their way to the tropical paradise. However, something will happen during their vacation that will fundamentally change the game in unforeseen ways. The meaning of Marc Guggenheim's newly posted picture seems to be that events will transpire during the upcoming Season 3 premiere that send our characters to a point beyond which they will likely be unable to return. Possibly involving dinosaurs? Seems like the biggest decisions made in the episode might involved dinosaurs.

Faithful to the "crossing the Rubicon" wordplay of the title, the Legends will presumably have to live with the decisions that they ultimately make. No more Spear of Destiny to undo any of their poor choices, and no more firm timeline to offer them a simple do-over.

Based on this title and overarching description, as well as the light chatter put out there by the cast, it's beginning to sound like the third season of Legends of Tomorrow could have severe implications for every single member of the team. But now it seems likely that Rip Hunter and Sara Lance will be the two characters most influenced by this shift in status quo.

The reason for this is the fact that we will see two captains locked in a battle of ideologies. With Rip leading his newly established Time Bureau in a "by the book" manner, and Sara opting for a looser (and arguably more reckless) modus operandi, the show has built towards a conflict between these former teammates. It doesn't appear likely that Rip will become a villain and represent the core threat of the season, as the show has already gone down that road with the Legion of Doom arc. That said, it's becoming increasingly apparent that decisions made at the beginning of Legends of Tomorrow's third season -- which almost definitely involve dinosaurs -- will have enormous effects that will set the tone for the rest of the season.

CinemaBlend will keep you posted with more updates about Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 as new information is made available to us. The zany time travel series will return to The CW on Tuesday, October 10 at 9 p.m. EST. Beyond that, let us know what you think "Aruba-Con" means in the comments section below, and then head to our summer premiere schedule to see everything hitting the small screen in the near future.

Oliver Queen has gone through a lot of changes on Arrow. He's gone from brooding to cheerful to brooding again, with some back and forth on whether to murder his enemies thrown in for good measure. Every season of Arrow finds Oliver going through some kind of personal change and Season 6 will be no different. When Arrow returns in the fall, executive producer Marc Guggenheim has revealed that the show will further explore Oliver as a mentor type figure, putting his decade of hellish experiences to good use.

Season 5 of Arrow ended in a pretty dark place, with Adrian Chase giving one last middle finger and blowing up the entirety of Lian Yu with literally all of Oliver's friends and family still on it. Of course, most if not all of these characters will be alive and well when Season 6 airs, but Oliver doesn't know that yet! While this could have been a very dark turn for Oliver, he won't let the near-deaths of all his loved ones weigh him down. Way to be emotionally healthy-ish, Oliver!

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Marc Guggenheim revealed that Season 6 will further explore Oliver as a mentor figure. Season 5 dealt with Oliver learning to expand the team and train a new group of vigilantes. Now that he's gotten the hang of taking people under his wing, Season 6 will see him take a page from Diggle's book by giving more personal advice. Oliver has had an... interesting life, to say the least, so he probably has some wisdom to hand out. He's also got his son William to worry about, which could be one way he will have to learn to be more parental.

Arrow moves to a new night in the fall and will premiere on Thursday, October 12, 2017, at 9 p.m. EST, and we can expect some major crossover action in the first half of the season. Who knows? Maybe Stephen Amell's dream will come true and we'll get an Arrow/Supernatural crossover. Until then, plan the rest of your summer viewings with our summer TV premiere guide. To learn more about all the shows that have been cancelled or renewed, check out our network and cable/streaming guides. If you're not up on all the many reboots and revivals that are on the way to the small screen, our list of the most exciting can help you out.

The pressure is on for the Arrowverse writers to deliver yet another awesome crossover event that somehow tops the others they've done before. With last year's tackling the invasion of the Dominators, the big challenge in creating this year's 4-way crossover is somehow topping an event of that scale. Marc Guggenheim explains how they're attempting to raise the bar in this year's event, saying:

Marc Guggenheim's words appear to indicate that this year's four show crossover could have real implications for Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends Of Tomorrow. The impact of last year's crossover, while massive in the moment, did lack a certain lasting effect beyond that tape revelation that eventually outed Barry Allen as Savitar. Adding emotional stakes and pay-offs would at least give more weight to the crossovers, which so far have been one-off adventures with little impact on the Arrowverse as a whole.

EW joked with Marc Guggenheim that he probably originally intended on killing everybody, but he already did that in Arrow, which Guggenheim found humorous. Emotional consequences in the Arrowverse do typically mean someone's life is on the line, so could it be someone loved by fans of all shows could fall in this crossover? Considering where all the shows left off at the end of their seasons, we're not sure if any show can afford to lose anyone else.

In either case, the pressure is on for the Arrowverse team to perform as last year's crossover event was The CW's highest watched week in quite a few years. With Supergirl getting a full episode crossover this year as opposed to a small sequence towards the end of the episode, this will be the first time the showrunners have attempted a true four show crossover. And with Black Lightning starting in 2018, it's a shame that the Arrowverse team doesn't seem interested in pushing the limit to a five show crossover for the next season.

Before petitions get started for that cause, we'll have to see if the Arrowverse writers can pull off the true four show crossover as Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends Of Tomorrow all make their return to The CW in the fall. To see when all your favorite hero shows will return for the next season, be sure to click here. Fans needing something to watch until then can always visit our summer premiere guide for dates for a plethora of shows premiering and returning that are worth a watch. Also be sure to check out our renewal guide to see what shows won't be coming back for the 2017-2018 season.

The CW got into time travel is a bold new way with Legends of Tomorrow, and we've already gotten two seasons of a crew of heroes breaking, tweaking, and attempting to fix time throughout history. Season 2 ended on an insane cliffhanger that revealed a giant mess made by the time shenanigans, and we already knew that Rip Hunter and his crew of Time Bureau associates would try to fix things, even if it meant getting in the Legends' way. In doing so, Rip will evidently come to resemble a certain character from Beverly Hills Cop. Executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained the connection, saying this:

Rip Hunter will evidently still be an antagonist of sorts in Season 3; this time, however, he won't be an evildoer warped by the Legion of Doom. In his efforts to follow a kind of protocol to fix time, he and his Time Bureau will clash with the efforts of our heroes. Marc Guggenheim's comparison to EW of Rip in Season 3 to Ronny Cox's character Lieutenant Bogomil means that he won't be a bad guy. He'll just try to stop others from stepping in and messing up his cases.

Given how often Rip was known to allow time to be bungled during his time with the Legends, I'm not sure how he'll fare as leader of a new group of time caretakers. I won't be surprised if he finds himself needing the Legends' help pretty quickly in Season 3. They may not be great at preserving timelines themselves, but they don't give up, and they have a variety of powers and abilities that give them an edge. Besides, just because he gave up command of the Waverider to Sara doesn't mean he no longer cares about the safety of the Legends.

Interestingly, there will be another member of the Legends' team in Season 3, and she'll have no reason to harbor any kind of loyalty to Rip. Actress Tala Ashe has signed on to play Zari Adrianna Tomaz, who is a 30th century hacktivist who also happens to have secret powers coming from a mystical and very ancient source. She'll undoubtedly be a game-changer for both the Legends as they try to monitor time and the Time Bureau as they try to keep a handle on everything.

Unfortunately, we still have a while to wait before we see Rip Hunter channel his inner Beverly Hills Cop character and face the Legends. Legends of Tomorrow won't be back with new episodes until Tuesday, October 10 at 9 p.m. ET. For your viewing options before then, our summer TV schedule can set you up. Be sure to check out our breakdown of what we know so far about Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 for a peek ahead.