Arrow-verse fans have been able to rely on a big multi-show crossover for the past several years, but it was usually a long waiting game after one crossover ended before news of what the next crossover would be about. That changed with the 2018 event that brought the heroes of Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl together. Called "Elseworlds," the crossover ended on the thrilling reveal that 2019 would see the shows tackling the legendary DC Comics arc called "Crisis on Infinite Earths."
At the TCA winter press tour, CinemaBlend's Nick Venable asked CW President Mark Pedowitz if announcing the crossover early was helpful in planning the year's TV slate, and Pedowitz had this to say:
It actually does. It actually whets the audience's appetite, which is something that is great. To have an anticipatory feeling about it because you're starting to see on social media commentary.
By The CW revealing the Arrow-verse's next crossover at the end of the latest crossover, viewers have something to go on during the year-long wait for the next event bringing all the heroes together. (Admittedly, "Elseworlds" did omit the heroes of one particular show.) Fans have something concrete to fuel speculation, and their social media commentary gives the folks at The CW and behind-the-scenes at the various shows something to go on as they put the event together.
Given that an Arrow-verse take on "Crisis on Infinite Earths" has been heavily foreshadowed since way back in the beginning of The Flash, fan anticipation is going to be quite high. Hopefully the fact that the team at The CW is already working out how it's going to go down means that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" will be the best and most cohesive of the crossovers to date. It's certainly the most ambitious, even if it does leave out Legends of Tomorrow again!
It's still too early for Mark Pedowitz to drop tons of spoilers about "Crisis on Infinite Earths," but he did tease what viewers can expect from the crossover event:
"Crisis on Infinite Earths," one thing I can tell you early in the planning stages, we're already talking to producers, we're a year out, almost a year out. It will be the biggest, the most complicated, one that they've done, but I am proud to say that they're doing it and we are supporting it.
I for one have no trouble believing that "Crisis on Earth-X" will be the most complicated crossover to date, if it's even a fraction of how complicated the arc is on the pages of DC Comics! "Elseworlds" set the stage and introduced some characters who will likely be key, including Psycho Pirate.
If Batwoman gets her own series, I would expect her to have a key role in the crossover as well, although she doesn't necessarily need her own starring vehicle to kick ass and take names. She did plenty of that in "Elseworlds" when the heroes visited Gotham City!
Sadly, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" won't hit the airwaves until the fall, presumably late November or early December, assuming it follows the pattern of the previous crossovers. The good news is that all of the Arrow-verse shows scored renewals for the 2019-2020 season, along with a bunch of other CW shows. For your viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule.
