Amit Malaviya
While Arrow, progenitor of what’s popularly come to be known as the Arrowverse on the CW, is set to end early next year, after the much-anticipated Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, the CW may already be looking at ways to keep that corner of the universe alive and well.
Rumour has been for awhile that the CW and Warner Bros. TV were looking at potential spin-offs of Arrow, some of which will be introduced through backdoor pilots during Arrow’s upcoming eighth and final season.
The front-runner of these is a show that would bring Katie Cassidy and Juliana Harkavy – both playing versions of Black Canary – together with Katherine McNamara’s Mia Smoak, future daughter of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak, who would officially take up the Green Arrow mantle of the pilot makes it to series. Originally teased at TCA by the CW boss Mark Pedowitz, it isn’t yet clear whether the series would bring Mia into the present, or whether the series would be set in Mia’s native 2040, with both Canaries playing older versions of themselves. The backdoor pilot will be written by Beth Schwartz, Marc Guggenheim, Jill Blankenship and Oscar Balderrama.
Of the ever-expanding Arrowverse, Pedowitz had said, “We believe these franchises, this universe will continue for many years, so it’s important to ensure that you have characters that will keep the fans coming back. How that universe plays out, time will tell.”
