Every year, The CW presents an Arrow-verse crossover, it gets tougher to keep track of, and 2018 will be no different. When Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow return in the fall and start building toward their annual four-show event, a new face and city will enter the fold.
For the first time ever, Batwoman will participate in the crossover and, with her, comes a new setting. "We are adding the city of Gotham into the Arrow-verse," CW president Mark Pedowitz announced at the network's upfront presentation to advertisers, according to TVLine. It's about time.
Arrow star Stephen Amell was on-hand to help announce the big news and said Batwoman will be fighting alongside The CW's stable of superheroes against the crossover's currently-unknown villain. This development marks a major shift in the Arrow-verse, which has always been careful to tread lightly around Batman and Gotham City.
While there have been throwaway lines alluding to Batman's public identity of Bruce Wayne and certain villains from the Dark Knight's rogues gallery have been featured on the shows--Ra's al Ghul, for instance--including the city and one of its heroes in such a major role is very different. It's also incredibly exciting, though. Even Superman has appeared in this universe, so keeping the world of Batman behind a lock and key always felt like something massive was missing.
The move comes at a very interesting time, though. Fox has announced a fifth and final season of Gotham, which essentially tells the origin story of Batman and his most-feared villains, while Epix has ordered a 10-episode series about the early life of Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler, set in London.
No casting has been announced for Batwoman or anyone else in the annual crossover yet. Additionally, it looks like Black Lightning--another DC Comics TV show on The CW--remains outside of the Arrow-verse and, thus, not included in the event. That could always change, though. After all, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow are no strangers to the multiverse. Still, even without Black Lightning, it's hard not to get excited about Gotham City entering this particular TV universe and what that could mean for other characters down the road.
