Exclusive: All DC Shows On CW In Danger Of Cancellation Within Two Years
The Arrowverse may be on its last legs.
If you thought the 2019-2020 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths was the biggest threat the Arrowverse could ever face, we’ve got some bad news for you. While fans of the nearly decade-old narrative are still reeling from the news that most of the DC shows on The CW are getting the axe, our trusted and proven source tells us this is only the beginning. The Powers That Be at Warner Bros. Discovery has a plan to completely remove all the remaining Arrowverse shows from The CW within the next two years.
In this case by “The Powers That Be,” we’re referring to Warner Bros. Discovery Big Cheese David Zaslav. Our source says the CEO wants to scrub all the DC shows from The CW by 2025. It looks like we’ve already seen the beginning of that. In late April came the news that both Batwoman and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow were being cancelled, and last week came the word that Naomi wouldn’t continue after its inaugural season.
Our source didn’t have word on exactly why Zaslav was looking to cut free the DC shows from The CW, though it isn’t tough to imagine why the CEO would want to get rid of the Arrowverse. Series like The Flash are expensive and effects heavy, and in the meantime as The Hollywood Reporter pointed out in January when news broke about Warner Media looking to sell The CW, the network hasn’t turned a profit since 2006. THR noted at the time that The CW’s old deal with Netflix helped its shows gain traction, but that ended in 2019 when the streaming wars heated up and the deal with Netflix ended.
Speaking of the streaming wars; that’s likely another motivation to lose the DC shows from The CW. With hits like Loki and Moon Knight from Disney+ and The Boys and Invincible from Amazon Prime Video, the Arrowverse series are now competing with shows with bigger budgets, bigger stars, and fewer content restrictions. One might even argue that it makes Warner Bros. Discovery compete with itself, since HBO Max has its own growing crop of superhero originals like Peacemaker and Titans. Zaslav and others may understandably wonder if it would be better to keep DC superhero TV content in one place. If that’s the case then it could mean that the few remaining Arrowverse series could find a home on HBO Max.
With the series finales of Black Lightning and Supergirl airing last year, and Arrow concluding its run in 2020, that leaves only three DC series left on The CW: The Flash, Stargirl, and Superman & Lois. Stargirl‘s third season is set to release in the Fall, while both The Flash and Superman & Lois have been renewed for another season. However, even before the news from our source about Zaslav’s intentions, there was already a lot of speculation that The Flash‘s next season would be its final one. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published yesterday, showrunner Eric Wallace said he’s planning the ninth season as if it could be the final one “just in case.”
