There’s good news on the horizon for fans of DC Comics’ television projects. This week at the Television Critics Association press tour, Arrow producer Greg Berlanti mentioned that the CW is in early talks to bring a third superhero-based DC Comics show to the network. If it moves forward, the show could be about Ray Palmer, aka Atom.
Routh has already appeared in six episodes of Arrow this season, and he’s slated for way more, making his arc a substantial one on the hit series. He’s done a good job of playing Ray Palmer, a businessman and brilliant mind who only recently began building a suit he calls “A.T.O.M.” In the comics, Atom’s a character that is able to shrink down to subatomic size. According to THR, Berlanti spoke out at the press tour to explain that a new TV project is in the early stages. Like seriously early.
"We're in very early talks in a very general idea that we haven't gone deeper on yet.”
So, don’t expect a series order to be announced tomorrow. Regardless, it’s good to hear that there is movement on another show in the DC Comics/CW world. We’ve known for a while now that the CW is interested in producing another superhero-oriented DC Comics show. When the CW announced the desire for a third superhero premise, there was speculation that Atom could be the character at the heart of the new series, especially since Brandon Routh has the acting skills and leading man qualities to carry a program. It’s nice to know that the network is considering the idea seriously at this point.
It’s interesting that the CW would be looking to pull a recurring character from Arrow to headline a new show. The Flash capably earned an audience when Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen was introduced during episodes of Arrow, but Gustin appeared in far less episodes of Arrow than Routh is expected to. Still, Routh’s current building of the A.T.O.M suit means his origin story is being built into Arrow, which is actually similar to how Barry Allen’s lightning storm and coma issues were handled when he initially appeared on our TVs.
The CW’s moving pretty quickly with its lineup next year. Today, Arrow and The Flash, along with six other shows, were renewed for the 2015-2016 TV season. And the CW has another DC Comics-based series, iZombie, hitting the schedule over the next few months. So, even if Atom becomes a project instead of a potential project, it may not move forward for a long time. At least it means the CW is seriously looking at a third superhero show, though.
While the CW figures out where it wants to go with lucrative DC properties in the coming years, The Flash and Arrow will be returning to the schedule on January 20 and 21, respectively. Find out when your other favorites are returning with our 2015 midseason TV schedule.
