Cast from Smallville's conclusion in 2011, Arrow, which premiered in October 2012, was the first series that in turn gave birth to an interconnected TV universe that created one spinoff series after another.
As shows like The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and many more came to life, it began a new annual tradition for The CW. Almost every November/December, the network would host a yearly multi-part crossover, bringing all the shows together as the heroes took on various DC villains. The last major event the Arrowverse had was Crisis on Infinite Earths, which saw the end of one era and the beginning of another for the Arrowverse. Due to the global pandemic that came in 2020, the crossovers have taken a backseat, with The Flash season 8's Armageddon event coming closest to a similarly sized event.
With the Arrowverse turning 10 years old this October, one of the franchise's stars took audiences down memory lane recently. Stephen Amell, best known as Oliver Queen, a.k.a. the Green Arrow, shared on Twitter an old behind-the-scenes image from one of the old school crossovers. The Heels star, who finished his run in the Arrowverse in 2020, revealed a photo that was taken during a photoshoot for the Invasion crossover which aired in 2016. Check out the full image below:
Amell's post came only hours after The CW officially gave out its first set of renewals for the 2022-2023 TV season. While not all of the DC TV shows got renewed by The CW that day, of returning Arrowverse series for next year. In The Flash's case, season 9 will officially make the Grant Gustin-starring series the longest-running Arrowverse show on The CW as it sures Arrow's eight-year run.
Amell's post serves as a good reminder of how incredible and ambitious the Arrowverse crossovers are, as they involve multiple productions and nearly impossible shooting schedules. While COVID-19 has made things tougher on filming, the next TV season will hopefully see the DC dramas do something together again. However, it all depends on how the year goes as the pandemic is still ongoing. Even if it can't be on a Crisis on Infinite Earths-level, it would still be fun to see the Arrowverse shows do something again, even similar to what The Flash did with Armageddon last fall.
Source: Stephen Amell