Batman Won't Show Up on Arrow, or the CW For That Matter

During his presentation at the Television Critics Association earlier today, CW President Mark Pedowitz put the kibosh on long-simmering rumors that Bruce Wayne could appear on Arrow. With Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy now concluded, it's been widely speculated that the firewall that kept Batman off live-action TV had been lifted and that Arrow wouldn't labor under the same problems that Smallville did in terms of having to work around that key part of the DC Comics Universe. Apparently, though, that's not the case, as Pedowitz told reporters who asked about a potential Batman series in the vein of Smallville, Arrow and Amazon, "At this time, no. And regarding your next question, regarding is Batman going to make a trip to Starling City, they're not in the same state." What that means for the relationship between The CW and Warner's theatrical arm in general is an interesting question; he suggested that they were working to avoid conflicts with Warner over Amazon, the forthcoming Wonder Woman pilot from writer Allen Heinberg, but a continued embargo on Batman might indicate that the publisher's top-tier characters are off-limits for TV...or at least for Arrow. Arrow's showrunners have said in the past that the series won't deal in the magic and super-science so common to the DC Universe, seeming counting out characters like Superman and Wonder Woman from appearing next to Green Arrow on the small screen. What if that directive is wider and characters with a Justice League pedigree are being reserved for the big screen more generally? It doesn't seem unlikely.