While speaking recently with TV Line, ‘Arrow’ showrunner Beth Schwartz was asked about the future of the series, especially in terms of spin-offs with the series only having one season left after the current one. And while it may not seem like a likely possibility since the CW already has a pretty full block of superhero shows, with another on the way (i.e. ‘Batwoman‘), ‘Arrow’ has been the flagship series for the CW’s Arrowverse, and seeing it continued in some regard would mean a lot to many fans.
So, TV Line asked whether the episode ‘Star City 2040‘ was a kind of back-door pilot meant to push Kat McNamara, Ben Lewis and Joseph Jones characters forward as the next generation of Team Arrow, with them taking on the mantle in the future in a spin-off series once ‘Arrow’ goes off the air. Schwartz replied with:
“It was definitely meant to grow the world that we had already built and to see the next generation of what Oliver and Felicity and our present-day team have worked so hard for, and sort of see what happens in the future. We love those characters and would love to see them go on in some capacity after the show’s over [possibly via crossovers with the remaining Arrowverse shows.] We were so happy, internally, about how it came out. We kinda love our future story.”
While I did enjoy the foray into the future, I just do not know if there is enough there to really sustain an entire series, especially since I had secretly hoped that our heroes would “fix” that future by doing things better in the present, especially since that future seems particularly bleak. It is a future where heroes are hated, Star City is in ruins (minus the Glades), and it looks likely that Oliver is dead, which would not portend a very happy ending for ‘Arrow’ if they are indeed planning on making the future of ‘Star City 2040’ a real spin-off. But I suppose we will find out what they have in mind as the series gets closer and closer to its ending, which of course starts with wrapping up the current season.
Check out the official synopsis for the next episode of ‘Arrow,’ ‘Lost Canary,’ which will be their first episode back after the current hiatus below, and then feel free to share your thoughts on the remaining episodes of Season 7 and what to expect from Season 8 and any spin-offs in the comments below that!
After being accused of murder and having her criminal past exposed, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) goes full Black Siren and teams up with an old criminal acquaintance, Shadow Thief (guest star Carmel Amit), to go on a crime spree around Star City. While Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) aims to bring Laurel in, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) refuses to give up on her friend and tries everything to get through to her, even summoning Sara Lance (guest star Caity Lotz) for help. However, Laurel rebuffs all her efforts, forcing the former friends to face off against each other. Kristin Windell directed the episode written by Jill Blankenship & Elisa Delson (#718).
