http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/cw-...-greg-berlanti-andrew-kreisberg-david-nutter/ Well, this is surprising. I had thought WB would be going the movie route with the character, but a weekly series would be cool too.
That's a surprising retcon to the Arrow universe, but I think it's a promising development. Arrow has turned out to be a strong interpretation of the DCU, so it could make sense to use it as the anchor for an extended DCU on television, given how much trouble they're having getting one to work in the movies. Okay, they are going forward with a Batman/Superman movie, but there are no guarantees. Or, maybe the plan is to follow Marvel's lead and do a shared universe encompassing both film and TV. It's conceivable that Arrow could be retroactively folded into the Man of Steel universe (or vice-versa, depending on how you look at it).
I was thinking the same thing. My guess is that this is just not true as the writers for Arrow have seemed quite serious about the no super-powers rule and at this point it would really not fit with the style of the program that they have developed.
It will be interesting to see how this compares with the CBS series from the '90s. I assume it'll be somewhat more gritty/dark from what little I've seen of Arrow. I hope not too much so, though. To me, the flash is one of those characters that needs a bit of a lighter touch than say a Batman type of character. But maybe not quite as sunshiny as Superman.
I had the same thought Christopher. There is no reason a Justice League movie could not crossover between tv and movies. SHIELD is showing that the studios are seeing the benefits of that. I do not think I would call this a retcon of Arrow. More like a re-conception. They have had minor characters who in the comics have powers without any. No major superpowered characters have appeared without.
I don't really see a problem with The Flash conflicting with no Super powers, per say. I think it all comes to down to The Flash' origin and wether it's sciency enough or too magic-y, but, the powers themselves, shouldn't be an issue.
If the Flash is introduced on Arrow I hope his own series is fairly soon after that. Once Oliver Queen became a regular on Smallville there was no chance of a Green Arrow spin-off. He had been so exposed on there and tied into its mythology he would not have worked in a show tied to it. Having a connection and using Arrow as a launch is good. But I think it would hurt both shows if they are too intertwined. For this to work both series will have to have separate styles. Also I hope Central City will not be next door to Sterling City. That way even if occasionally superpowered heroes and villains appear on Arrow it can still maintain its own unique style and identity.
It sounds like on Arrow he will be Barry Allen before he gets the powers. Which makes sense. Its taking time before Oliver Queen actually takes on the identity of a true hero and the name Green Arrow.
I hope the build up to super powers on Arrow is gradual. Maybe villains with more tech, gadgets and gizmos. This leads up to the accident where Forensic scientist Barry Allen gets super powers and leaves town. If they throw the fantastic at us right away some fans will reject it. But if done slowly, it will fit the concept by the time Barry gets his powers.
We have already got Roy Harper, this could lead to Wally West as Barry's nephew. Perhaps a Titans show could happen at some point down the line?
They could conceivably still never do superpowers on Arrow if they introduce Barry on Arrow and wait for his own show before he becomes the Flash. Technically it would be a shared universe, but tonally, they could keep the two shows very separate. Kind of like how John Barrowman (coincidentally of Arrow) has said in the past that Captain Jack could guest on Doctor Who, but they could never have the Doctor guest on Torchwood, because the show as too dark for that character to be associated with.
This sounds interesting. I would actually love to see super powers on Arrow. I don't like how these shows try to handicap themselves just to stay to a random writers vision (no suit/flying for Clark on Smallville for example). Arrow has been awesome and could remain that way with no powers, but I think it would be cool to have super powered people sometimes. Its a superhero tv show, it really shouldn't be a question of if when it comes to actually having characters with super powers. I like the idea of a Flash TV show, but they need to do it right. Don't handicap him like the old Flash TV show (I've only seen a few episodes, but I remember that Flash almost dying after running just 300 miles or so, which is beyond pathetic). Also, get real supervillains for Flash. Not some random albino guy who you pretend is a version of Captain Cold, get a guy with a freeze gun and the name. This could be good, and I hope it happens, as long as its done right (and right now CW has proven it can have good live action superhero shows, hopefully Flash won't be an exception).
The Hollywood Reporter is saying that The Flash is also still being developed for the big screen, with an eye to a 2016 release, and that Greg Berlanti is attached to direct and co-write:
I will eagerly await the introduction of Barry to the Arrow universe as he is my favorite Flash. Now if we could go with the original Rogues instead of the Nu52 versions I would be even happier when the Flash gets his own show.
I hope they follow through with putting Barry on Arrow and then spinning him off on his own show. Barry is not my favorite Flash but his police background works for a show like Arrow and for his own show too. I also hope they haven't given up on the Amazon show yet.
Could this finally mean an end to the embargo? I never saw a point to it, and I think it's done more harm than good. It was the one thing that held Smallville back more than anything else. Arrow has got off to such an amazing start, but I've been worried the embargo will eventually cause problems for that show as well. Television might be the ideal place for the DCU. If the Flash series pans out and is a success, I would expect more. I don't know what it is, but it's been my observation that DC works so much better in an episodic environment. Take the AU for example, while several of the films have been fairly good, non have reached the excellence of the series. Though to be honest, while a Flash series is great news, I expected Diana to be the next place they looked. With that last failed attempt, I thought they might be close enough that WB might try to bring in some other people, rework things a little, and give it another go on their own network. In any case, it will be interesting to see what direction they take the show. I would be really surprised if they try to make it as "serious" as Arrow. Flash's RG is about as "goofy" (for lack of a better term) as you can get. A "dark and edgy" Mirror Master, Trickster, and Weather Wizard might come off as absurdly silly to most.
If they're still developing a Flash feature, that would suggest they're planning to have separate TV and movie continuities, then. I guess that rules out what I was thinking, that maybe the emergence of superpowers could be an aftereffect of the introduction of Kryptonian technology to the world. Maybe some remnants of it were scattered around the world and affect people in strange ways, or the government/military tries to reverse-engineer it and experiments on people, or whatever. Kind of like how the MCU is using Asgardian tech as the justification for a lot of its superscience. But if the TV and movie universes are separate, I guess that won't work. I wonder, though, if Amazon will be part of the DCCWverse, as it were, if it ever gets off the ground.