Crisis on Infinite Earths Begins Production Today

Earlier today, Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim tweeted that today marked his birthday, the day before the second season of his Amazon series Carnival Row went into production, and the start of production on "Crisis on Infinite Earths," the latest Arrowverse crossover, and one of the most ambitious TV events ever attempted. Guggenheim will oversee the event, as he did last year's "Elseworlds" crossover. That has been his primary Arrowverse role since he stepped down as the showrunner of Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow before the 2018-2019 TV season began. This time, though, he knows that he is adapting one of DC Comics's biggest stories, and doing so in an incredibly visible way.

"Crisis on Infinite Earths" has loomed over the Arrowverse for years. The series premiere of The Flash featured an allusion to the hero disappearing amid red skies in the year 2024. During the original comics event, red skies were a sign of doom to come to a world during the Crisis. At the end of last season, a couple of things happened: The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), who had appeared in "Elseworlds," reappeared and revealed that Oliver Queen was destined to die in the Crisis...and the future newspaper at STAR Labs rolled back the expected date of the Crisis from 2024 to 2019.

In the comics, Crisis on Infinite Earths centered on a battle between the combined superheroes (and even some villains) of the DC multiverse and an immortal, cosmic threat known as the Anti-Monitor. Like The Monitor, the Anti-Monitor will be played by LaMonica Garrett in the Arrowverse. As the Anti-Monitor destroys realities, he replaces their positive matter energy with antimatter, growing his own power and sphere of influence. He was eventually stopped by the sacrifices of several heroes, including The Flash and Supergirl, as well as the merging of multiple universes to save reality by becoming a single, unified timeline. Fans have long wondered whether the events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" might bring Supergirl and even Black Lightning to Earth-1, where the rest of the series take place. The crossover will also feature guest appearances by Tom Welling as Clark Kent, Erica Durance as Lois Lane, John Wesley Shipp as the Flash of Earth-90, Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex, Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne, and Brandon Routh as Superman.

"Crisis on Infinite Earths" will air on The CW this winter, taking place on five episodes of TV over two quarters -- one each of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman. Are you excited for the Crisis? Chime in below or tweet your thoughts to @russburlingame.