With all of the promos coming out to get audiences ready for this year’s crossover event on the CW’s Arrowverse shows, fans can now hear what the leads of 3 series involved, ‘The Flash,’ Supergirl,’ and ‘Arrow,’ think of this year’s event thanks to a recent article published by Entertainment Weekly. They touched on everything from the dynamic of only crossing over with 3 of the Arrowverse series this year (leaving out ‘Legends of Tomorrow’), the focus on the big three heroes (Supergirl, The Green Arrow, and The Flash), and the natural comedy of this year’s crossover due to Oliver and Barry having to spend some time living each other’s lives. ‘The Flash’ star Grant Gustin began by speaking on what it was like playing “Oliver Queen,” saying:
“You’re not going to see me playing Oliver Queen’s mannerisms, or Stephen playing Barry’s mannerisms. It’s more being aware that for some reason we’ve switched lives and destinies. It’s more the fun of the situational comedy that we keep finding ourselves in, and less us having a complete role reversal. We get to see Stephen do some of the more goofy speed stuff I have to do on a regular basis, and I get some actual combat as Green Arrow. So, we just see different colors for each of us…It feels like it’s going to be our strongest crossover, our funniest crossover. I don’t know what fans are excited for, but I’m excited just to see Superman, Flash, Supergirl, Green Arrow, and Batwoman all on screen together. It’s pretty amazing.”
Next, ‘Arrow’ star Stephen Amell talked about his experience acting with “powers” and what his character has to do to be a hero in this new scenario:
“Having superpowers is crazy! Wearing the Flash suit is crazy! The idea is that in order to be the best version of Barry Allen, which I have to be because we face a threat, there are elements of his personality I have to embrace, and there are elements of my personality that he has to embrace.”
While ‘Supergirl’ star Melissa Benoist spoke about her place in the story, as the only character who apparently can tell that Barry and Oliver switched:
“My initial reaction in reading the scripts this year was that it would be a hoot to film. The comedy just lives in this. Even just seeing them in each other’s suits is funny; they’re literally putting themselves in each other’s shoes! She [Supergirl] inevitably becomes kind of a middleman because ultimately there’s conflict between the two and they start butting heads.”
As for the reason for this year’s crossover focusing on the “trinity” of the Arrowverse, and leaving out ‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ it might be best explained by Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim, who told EW:
“The most fun aspect about really focusing on the leads is we really had a chance to tell a story about the troika that we’ve never really been able to do before. When you have Legends of Tomorrow part of it, and all of the other secondary and supporting characters, the amount of time we had Grant and Stephen and Melissa on screen together was actually pretty minimal in other crossovers compared to this year…It’s very hard on the crew, it’s very hard on the cast, and we wanted this year to just be a little easier. That’s why we focused on crossing over mainly the leads of the shows and not including a fourth hour. The hard thing about crossing over with Legends is, because that’s an ensemble show, you’re crossing over with the entire cast. That said, there is a Legends cameo in hour 3.”
What are your thoughts on this year’s crossover event? Do you wish the ‘Legends’ crew were more involved, and that it was a 4-night event? Are you looking forward to seeing how they handle the Barry/ Oliver swap? Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments below!
