Following RUMORS that The CW may cancel ‘Arrow’ and/or ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, comes word that ‘Supergirl’ may also be axed and replaced by a ‘Superman’ show starring Tyler Hoechlin. Keep in mind, this is just a RUMOR so take this with a grain of Kryptonite-laced salt.
Reportedly, ‘Supergirl’ will be benched due to weak ratings. Many involved have already spoken openly about the fact that The CW was considering a spinoff, ‘Superman’ with Hoechlin, after his guest appearances on ‘Supergirl’ and the other DC series have been warmly received by fans. This winter’s ‘Elseworlds’ crossover also introduced Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane, who was revealed to be pregnant, leading to Superman announcing that he was taking some time off and leaving the world in his cousin’s hands.
In addition to flagging ratings, it is heavily rumored that Warner Brothers wants to deliver a ‘Supergirl’ theatrical movie, to sort of replace the Henry Cavill ‘Superman’ brand. In the past, it has been well known that if WB wants certain characters in the movies, they make them off limits to the TV division. These movie plans, plus weaker ratings may have put a target on ‘Supergirl’s back.
Reportedly, The CW will drastically reconfigure its Arrowverse with this year’s crossover event ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’, named after the 1984 DC Comics event which completely overhauled its publishing universe, streamlining all of its characters into one shared continuity, instead of numerous parallel Earths. But over the course of the series, many huge characters were killed in the line of duty, including Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, and Supergirl.
As it stands, the Arrowverse is the foundation of The CW’s entire lineup, with four ongoing series– ‘Arrow’, ‘The Flash’, ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, and ‘Supergirl’. ‘Arrow’ came first, but when ‘The Flash’ debuted (simultaneously with ‘Arrow’s third season), it became The CW’s #1 show and has held that position since. On the other hand, ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ has always been the weakest performer of the lot. On top of originating ‘Arrow’, ‘The Flash’, and ‘Legends’, The CW rescued ‘Supergirl’ after it aired for one season on CBS and was canceled. In addition, it revived the character John Constantine, played by Matt Ryan, who headlined his own series, ‘Constantine’ which aired on NBC before being canned. Constantine was eventually added to the cast of ‘Legends’.
Then on top of that, The CW added another DC-based show, ‘Black Lightning’ after FOX passed on it after a pilot was made. That series, however, is not part of the Arrowverse, however, with ratings faltering in its sophomore season, and ‘Crisis’ coming up, that may change.
Here’s the biggest, fattest grain of salt in all of this– The CW already renewed all of the DC shows back in January. Now, it wouldn’t be unheard of for a network to renew a show and turn around and cancel it after the fact. It’s happened before. And The CW has ordered several pilots for new shows, including another DC series, ‘Batwoman’. So it is possible that things could change, but at this point, at least, the network seems to have committed to the majority of its coming season.
Check back for updates. But how would you feel about these changes? Would you be upset if ‘Arrow’, ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ or ‘Supergirl’ were canceled? How would you feel about a ‘Superman’ series replacing ‘Supergirl’?
Source: We Got This Covered
