Are the two CW shows going to tie in with the movies?

[horacethegrey]

I just saw the trailer for the new Flash series, and I have to say, I liked it a lot. Which leaves me to question, are the two DC supers on TV going to appear in the movies? Specifically, the upcoming Justice League movie after Superman vs Batman. I mean it seems like a waste that they've cast these two actors in these roles and won't be using them beyond the small screen. I haven't been following Arrow, but I hear Stephen Arnell has been doing a fine job portraying Olie Queen, and Grant Gustin looks like he's having a ton of fun playing Barry Allen.

If DC/Warner made these two shows tie in with their planned DC Cinematic Universe, they'd have a leg up over Marvel, which only has Agents of SHIELD and the upcoming Agent Carter as their tv properties tying in with movies. At least DC has shows focusing on actual superheroes, rather than side characters like Marvel does (though the upcoming Netflix projects look promising).

So what do you all think?

 

[Rorschach2012]

I love Arrow and Flash looks amazing. I'd be glad if they were connected, but if they aren't, that's okay too.

 

[TheHeatKitchen]

I hope they are. I'm personally a little iffy on Flash right now, but I think Oliver Queen has become a veteran and hardened enough to be a valid member of the team. And the timeline could work for the universe as well.

 

[jonathancrane]

Nope.

The showrunners said so a while ago, and just recently, one of WB's execs confirmed that all of the television shows will not be connected to the films.

 

[horacethegrey]

Really? Aw that sucks. So the CW shows will be their own little universe? Okay then. Though it's a shame they won't tie in with their upcoming movie projects.

 

[jonathancrane]

The article was in the Wall Street Journal.

 

[NuSense]

I was going to say I doubt that they will, but from the posts above, that seems confirmed lol.

if they were ever to put Green Arrow in the JL movies, they would have to use Stephen Amell imo.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Hopefully not.

I love Arrow but they've botched and messed up several characters that I don't want it associated with the rising DCCU.

 

[Cain]

The article was in the Wall Street Journal.

Yes. Diane Nelson the President of DC Entertainment said as much.

Her approach is the opposite of Marvel, which maintains a continuing narrative and cast of characters across all of its projects. Samuel L. Jackson, for instance, has appeared as superspy Nick Fury in "Avengers," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and the TV show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Ms. Nelson has instead encouraged Warner producers to develop diverse and even contradictory takes. The Batman in "Superman vs Batman," to be played by Ben Affleck, will be different from the one in "Gotham" and in coming direct-to-DVD animated movies and videogames. A kid-friendly version of Batman even appeared in February's hit "The Lego Movie."

"It isn't about a single approach to everything," said Ms. Nelson. "It's the right character matched with the right talent in the right medium."

 

[Cain]

Really? Aw that sucks. So the CW shows will be their own little universe? Okay then. Though it's a shame they won't tie in with their upcoming movie projects.

I don't see how it's a shame. It gives them a lot more freedom to tell the stories they actually want to tell instead of being creatively handicapped by somebody else's vision of a DCCU.

 

[Baramos]

At least the Bat-Embargo type stuff isn't in play anymore. They are willing to have separate continuities for television shows versus movies. That means they don't have to stifle the TV shows when the movies come out.

 

[Winter Soldier]

I'm glad Diane Nelson came out and confirmed it once and for all. Though it was pretty obvious.

 

[Destructus86]

I wish they would have been connected to the movies. I think Arrow is better than any DC movie out there.

 

[Hush]

I still hold hope they might be some day. Also I think Diane Nelson is annoying.

 

[metaphysician]

I wish they would have been connected to the movies. I think Arrow is better than any DC movie out there.

Its certainly better than the DCCU as it currently stands. t:

 

[guitarsingerguy]

It isn't necessary to connect them. Let the TV universe be it's own thing, and let the DC movie universe continue to build. If the TV shows serve as mild intros so the movies can skip over some aspects of their origin than great, but they don't need to be the same universe.

 

[DrCosmic]

...but they are in the same... Multiverse.

 

[Heretic]

It's absurd not to have them in the same universe. People don't want to watch logos dancing around a screen...they want to watch characters. DC has been and always will be number 2 because they think that as long as the logo is there, people will care. They can reboot, they can put someone new in the costume, they can give a new character the logo and make it Batboy or something and they expect people to automatically care because of that logo. But it doesn't necessarily work like that. If people are loving Flash on tv, and right in the middle of that some new guy shows up claiming to be Flash when just last night a new episode was on tv...they will be repulsed by that. They aren't necessarily going to transfer their love for one character over to the next just because they share a logo.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

For all we know, Flash is really terrible, it doesn't make it past one season.

Or for all we know, they don't plan to have Flash in the Justice League movies at all (or yet).

Who knows right now.

 

[DrCosmic]

It's absurd not to have them in the same universe. People don't want to watch logos dancing around a screen...they want to watch characters. DC has been and always will be number 2 because they think that as long as the logo is there, people will care. They can reboot, they can put someone new in the costume, they can give a new character the logo and make it Batboy or something and they expect people to automatically care because of that logo. But it doesn't necessarily work like that. If people are loving Flash on tv, and right in the middle of that some new guy shows up claiming to be Flash when just last night a new episode was on tv...they will be repulsed by that. They aren't necessarily going to transfer their love for one character over to the next just because they share a logo.

That's very insightful. 'Logo' is a good shorthand for how DC puts ideas over people. Kinda like Star Trek does vs Star Wars, which is much more about the people, and more successful.

 

[Rorschach2012]

It's absurd not to have them in the same universe. People don't want to watch logos dancing around a screen...they want to watch characters. DC has been and always will be number 2 because they think that as long as the logo is there, people will care. They can reboot, they can put someone new in the costume, they can give a new character the logo and make it Batboy or something and they expect people to automatically care because of that logo. But it doesn't necessarily work like that. If people are loving Flash on tv, and right in the middle of that some new guy shows up claiming to be Flash when just last night a new episode was on tv...they will be repulsed by that. They aren't necessarily going to transfer their love for one character over to the next just because they share a logo.

I really disagree. I'm pretty sure that audiences would be fine with multiple interpretations of the same character...

The only people worried about this are fanboys.

 

[Heretic]

But how can it not? Because logos DO matter more than characters??? That makes no sense.

Let's just stick with Flash...

Barry Allen is the Fastest Man Alive. There is more to it, but that is the elevator pitch. The public should care about him because of that.

But if Barry is busy, call Wally West, who is also the Fastest Man Alive.

If you can't get a hold of either of them, call Jay Garrick, the Fastest Man Alive.

If they are all busy, call Kid Flash...the Fastest Kid Alive.

Wait a minute...why am I supposed to care about Barry Allen again????

Now, imagine if there are TWO Barry Allens running around...

You can do that with pretty much all of DC's main characters. Superman is the Last Son of Krypton....except for Zod (which works because he's basically Bad Guy Superman)....and about a half dozen Supergirls (and Power Girl), and Superboy, and Superboy Prime, and the Superman of Earth 2...and the Super Monkey and other Super Pets...I could go on...

This has a (likely subconscious) impact on the reader...."our characters are not unique."

On top of that, reboots tell the reader/viewer that none of what they saw really mattered...and what they watch/read next likely won't either. How many reboots are we up to now with the comics? 5? If they give us Flash on tv and at the same time give us a different Flash with different experiences etc on the big screen, then aren't they basically telling us that the tv show doesn't count? It presents a mental block that forces us to care less about the "lesser" version.

 

[Karelia]

If they would have picked another character to have a spin-off from Arrow (on the same level of popularity) I could see Arrow and said other character having a small role in the JL.

But they chose The Flash as the spin-off character. So it gets a little sticky somewhat.

That said, I think it would be awesome to connect the universes. I imagine the main characters throughout the JL films would be Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Cyborg and maybe GL... Everyone else would probably have a more supporting role... Who knows, though.

If they do that, why not go ahead and bring in Amell and Gustin. It would most likely get more viewers for the show, as well. Update their costumes a bit for the movie... Let them wear it on their shows, too.

 

[jonathancrane]

While I support the decision to have different aesthetics and continuities, I cannot help but imagine...

...imagine if DC managed to connect Flash, Arrow, Constantine, Gotham, and the film-verse? It would be an unprecedented endeavor and would rocket them to the top of the food chain. It would be awesome having a spectacular feedback loop: a case in Gotham would be mentioned in a throwaway line in the Batfleck solo film, Deathstroke could appear in a League film, and Constantine's season conclusion could feed into del Toro's Dark Universe.

But, the arrangement they have is practical, and would allow for myriad mythologies and versions of the characters, which is as exciting and unique.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

It's absurd not to have them in the same universe. People don't want to watch logos dancing around a screen...they want to watch characters. DC has been and always will be number 2 because they think that as long as the logo is there, people will care. They can reboot, they can put someone new in the costume, they can give a new character the logo and make it Batboy or something and they expect people to automatically care because of that logo. But it doesn't necessarily work like that. If people are loving Flash on tv, and right in the middle of that some new guy shows up claiming to be Flash when just last night a new episode was on tv...they will be repulsed by that. They aren't necessarily going to transfer their love for one character over to the next just because they share a logo.

I don't think these actors are strong enough to hold their own on the big screen. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hell out of what we've gotten, but it really isn't the same. I also don't think you're giving people enough credit. They aren't stupid. A Flash on TV and a different one on film isn't going to confuse anyone to the point of their brain exploding. The TV universe needs to be its own thing, and the film universe needs to be something totally different.