The Arrow-verse's mega-crossover episodes will be big in 2018, but not in the sense that The CW is working to ensure each and every show is included. Legends of Tomorrow, for example, is getting sidelined in the upcoming romp between The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman, but executive producer Keto Shimizu isn't stressing about not being along for the ride. During press roundtables at San Diego Con-Con, CinemaBlend's Nick Venable asked Shimizu about Legends of Tomorrow being left out of the big crossover even, and she explained how it ultimately benefits the show to sit this latest adventure out.
I mean, all I can say is for us, that means we get sort of more story to ourselves, which we're totally happy doing. And tonally, we are so different form those other shows at this point, it's hard to jump back into that world with the other Arrow-verse shows. And we did it last year, and it was of course this gargantuan production and pre-production. It was crazy. For four shows to do that again, and to try and make it bigger than last time, I just don't think it's possible. I think the crossovers are going to be a lot different in general than what we've seen, and certainly our absence will be felt, because they are gonna miss us for sure. [laughs] But you know, I think we feel kind of liberated by it.
Keto Shimizu isn't sweating Legends of Tomorrow being out of the crossover in the way some fans may be handling that news, and she apparently feels that Season 4 is better served by primarily focusing on the show's in-house story and its awesome ensemble cast. That focus won't be rattled by any production obstacles for the big crossover event, which typically needs all the involved Arrow-verse shows to temporarily halt the usual episode process to coordinate schedules and get the crossover filmed.
Additionally, Keto Shimizu believes Legends of Tomorrow has distanced itself from the other Arrow-verse shows, both tonally and locationally. As such, it makes it kind of hard to bring the characters all together like they had in the past.
Last year, Legends of Tomorrow saved one of its biggest twists of the season for the mega-crossover, in which Martin Stein was killed off. But even though the crossovers can be important to this show, Shimizu's point is still taken, as a large chunk of the Legends' story in that adventure was still self-contained to the time-jaunting group. There was also that slightly awkward hook-up scene between Sara Lance and Alex Danvers, and while its aftermath was humorous, that romance may not be the biggest justification for why Legends of Tomorrow needs to be involved in mega crossovers again. Of course, just because Legends is fine with being excluded doesn't mean the characters will be, and Shimizu teased ways the team could reference being left out of the crossover:
I think we're just gonna do our own thing and have fun and maybe we'll be like, 'Why can't we get anyone from Star City on the phone? Is something going on over there? Did we get left out of something?' I mean, we'll probably do little jokes like that.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow returns to The CW Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET this fall. It's one of many hero shows coming to television in the near future, so head on over to our superhero premiere guide to check out the rest. For more on Legends of Tomorrow, be sure to check out the wild looking trailer for Season 4, which certainly gives the feeling this may be the best season the series has done to date. Those who would rather take a look at other types of programming heading to television in the coming months will find just what they need with our summer premiere guide.
