Superman & Lois Showrunner Addresses the Future of Arrowverse Crossovers

For years, fans of The CW's Arrowverse of DC Comics inspired shows eagerly looked forward to crossovers. Be them smaller scale situations that simply saw a few characters cross from one show to the other — as was the case early on with The Flash and Arrow — or the large-scale events that saw the heroes coming together to save the world from massive threats, getting to see the various heroes come together was a thing that fans looked forward to and would often speculate about over the course of entire seasons. But the landscape of the Arrowverse has seen some major changes since the last major crossover, "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Not only did COVID-19 create new functional challenges in terms of making crossovers, but also nearly all of the Arrowverse shows have ended their runs. only Superman & Lois and The Flash remain, and Superman & Lois' Season 2 finale delivered a major shocker in that Superman & Lois takes place in a completely different reality. What does all of this mean for the future of Arrowverse crossovers? According to Superman & Lois showrunner Todd Helbing, the crossover as we once knew it may be a thing of the past.

"We're on a different planet, a different Earth. The Superman that you saw in all the crossovers is not the same as the Superman on our planet," Helbing told Collider. "It's clearly a doppelganger. Part of how this all folds in the big picture with DC is ultimately a DC decision. I'm sure there'll be more clarity in the future, but as of now, we're a different Earth in the DC Universe."

Helbing also said that beyond the different realities of it all, the Arrowverse just isn't the same anymore, which changes how crossovers could even exist now.

"That version of what we did is probably [done] because we don't have all of those characters anymore," he said. "[From] those shows, all the actors are going to go on and do different projects, or life is going to make them busy. It's hard to speculate other than they're still comic book shows. There are guests in comic book shows all the time. I don't know if we'll have exactly the same thing — it's hard to perceive [what could happen in] the superhero genre."

Helbing went on to say that if there was a way to make such a guest appearance happen, The Flash, played by Grant Gustin, would probably be his first call, but even at that, there is still the "different worlds" situation.

"If there's an opportunity… I love Grant," Helbing said. "Grant's a friend. I have connections to that show, but I would say if there is one, Flash would probably be my first call. It's a little tricky now to do all this, but we'll see what happens."

For now, there are three remaining DC Comics inspired superhero shows on The CW with each taking place on their own Earth: Superman & Lois, The Flash, and DC's Stargirl. Another series, Gotham Knights, has no connections to the Arrowverse at all and is set to debut in 2023 while another series, Justice U starring Arrow alum David Ramsey is in development at the network.

What do you think about Helbing's comments about Arrowverse crossovers? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!