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:
Every year we feel the pressure and I do feel like each crossover has topped the previous one. Topping last year's [crossover] is a high bar, if for no other reason than what do you do that is bigger than aliens? We got some, I think, very, very exciting ideas. I would say, very early on in the process in actually doing last year's crossover, Greg said that 'there's probably no way to get bigger than aliens'. So the best way to make this year's crossover especially epic is, if you can't increase the bombast, increase the emotional stakes and the emotional pay-offs. A very oblique comment on where our heads are at for this season.
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.
