Despite The CW’s Arrowverse seemingly crumbling with Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman and Naomi all being cancelled within a few days of each other (here), it seems that the network will still be home to DC heroes… just not quite as many as before.
“[We’re] staying in the superhero business,” says The CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz.
“We are staying working with Greg Berlanti, who has masterminded creatively The CW DC Universe,”
While Arrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning and the others are gone, the network still has Stargirl, The Flash and Superman & Lois, so there’s still a lot of the DC universe(s) remaining.
“So, we’re not as robust as we were in the past, but still very much there,” Pedowitz says
“We started with one — this was ‘Arrow’ 10 years ago — we have now moved to create a whole bunch of superheroes. And we’re proud of it and we plan to stay in that business. No matter what the outcome is, with any event of sale or no sale. I think the Warner side realizes the value of having these properties up. DC Comics realizes the value of what it does to their marketability, in terms of what these franchises are.”
Wait, Supernatural IS part of the Arrowverse after all?
A majority stake of The CW is currently being acquired by Nexstar, which is what he’s talking about regarding ‘sale or no sale’.
We’re also hearing that Warners/DC want to bring all their properties home to HBO Max, hence the canceling of three shows in recent weeks, but there’s nothing confirmed on that front.
And, as if to prove his point, we also have our first look at The CW’s next DC property, Gotham Knights, a series set in the DC universe and featuring Robin Carrie Kelley and other members of the Bat-family. It will be on The CW in 2023.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Batman is dead, and a powder keg has ignited Gotham City without the Dark Knight to protect it.
In the wake of Bruce Wayne’s murder, his adopted son Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan, “De Son Vivant”) is framed for killing the Caped Crusader, along with the children of some of Batman’s enemies: Duela (Olivia Rose Keegan, “Days of Our Lives”), an unpredictable fighter and skilled thief who was born in Arkham Asylum and abandoned by her father, Harper Row (Fallon Smythe, “grown-ish”), a streetwise and acerbic engineer who can fix anything, and her brother Cullen Row (Tyler DiChiara, “The Virgin of Highland Park”), a clever transgender teen who is tired of being polite and agreeable. With the charismatic and hard-charging District Attorney Harvey Dent (Misha Collins, “Supernatural”) and the GCPD hot on their trail, Turner will rely on allies including his best friend and formidable coder Stephanie Brown (Anna Lore, “All American”), and unlikely Batman sidekick Carrie Kelley (Navia Robinson, “Raven’s Home”).
But our Knights will soon learn there is a larger, more nefarious force at work within Gotham City. This team of mismatched fugitives must band together to become its next generation of saviors known as the GOTHAM KNIGHTS.
From Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, GOTHAM KNIGHTS is written by Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux and Natalie Abrams. Fiveash and Stoteraux will serve as showrunners and executive produce the series alongside Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter. Abrams also serves as co-executive producer. Danny Cannon directed and served as an executive producer on the pilot, along with David Madden. GOTHAM KNIGHTS is based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.”
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