WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from Superman & Lois season 4, episodes 1 and 2.Grant Gustin’s chances of coming back as The Flash inSuperman & Loisseason 4 get addressed by theDCshowrunners, as well as how the show actually connects to the Arrowverse. After nearly two decades of airing DC TV content on The CW, starting withSmallvillein 2006, 2024 will mark the final year for the brand on the network. The Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch-starring drama serves as the final superhero show on the channel, with the series finally making its return this week withSuperman & Loisseason 4, episodes 1 and 2airing back-to-back.
In a new interview withEntertainment Weekly,Superman & Loisco-showrunner Todd Helbing teased how the series finale (which has yet to receive an air date) will honor the Arrowverse franchisewhile also stressing how the DC TV drama is still tied to the other shows, despite the big season 2 finale twist. Helbing, who was previously a showrunner forThe FlashTV show, also addressed whether fans should expect to see Gustin’s Barry Allen show up, stating the following:
Todd Helbing: Inherently there’s so many pressures you feel with a TV show — just writing the script was pressure, and then producing it, and the second that the show began, it’s about Superman and Lois Lane, so there’s a responsibility that comes with that too. With the Arrowverse, I’ve had 10 years of working in these shows and these worlds, and you want to do it justice, but you have to separate yourself from those feelings or you are not going to leave your house because it’ll be overwhelming.
The best way that we could approach it was to just do the best version for our show. [As for] Easter eggs, there’s the idealistic version — in a comic book you’d have all these characters at your disposal, so you can have whatever you want. But when you’re talking about schedules and money and budgets, it would be awesome to have [The Flash star] Grant [Gustin] in this, but it’s just not feasible. There are questions like that that come up, and then there’s the reality that hits you, and so ultimately, as we discussed in the room, we can just do what we can do, and I think the best way to honor what has been done for 10 years was to hopefully have the audience watch it and then feel satisfied.
I don’t know if I would specifically define it as not in the Arrowverse per se. Maybe it’s not that binary. It’s more that the events in our show are not taking place on the same Earth as the current Arrowverse.
What Todd Helbing’s Arrowverse Comments Mean For Superman & Lois
Ever sincetheSuperman & Loisseason 2 finalerevealed that the show doesn’t take place on Earth-Prime,many have, by default, run with the notion that it doesn’t even count as an Arrowverse series. However, it’s crucial to remember that Hoechlin and Tulloch began their Arrowverse run throughSupergirlwhile now playing their own doppelgängers onSuperman & Lois. EvenSupergirl’sJenna Dewan andArrow’sDavid Ramsey have appeared inSuperman & Loisas different iterations of their characters from Earth-Prime, whileThe Flash’sTom Cavanagh will appear in the series finale as a new figure.
As Helbing states himself, just becauseSuperman & Loistakes place on another Earth,it doesn’t mean that they’re negating the show’s existence in the overall Arrowverse. The Greg Berlanti-created franchise has always been rooted in the multiverse, asSupergirlandBlack Lightningtook place on their own Earths untilCrisis on Infinite Earthsrebooted the multiverse but also merged their worlds with the former Earth-1. WhiletheSuperman & Loisfinalemay not have Gustin’s Flash or other Arrowverse actors outside of Cavanagh, there are other ways that the writers may pay homage to the whole franchise.
Our Take On Todd Helbing’s Arrowverse Comments For Superman & Lois
It’s very encouraging to hear Helbing acknowledge that, despite not being a series finale for the Arrowverse, the final episode ofSuperman & Loisseason 4 will have something for viewers who have followed the franchise since 2012. Unless they have managed to film some secret cameos,time will tell how theSuperman & Loisseries finale will include nods to the Arrowverse. But until then, the world will have to continue to catch the remaining episodes ofSuperman & Loisseason 4 in the coming weeks.
Superman & Lois
Cast
Superman & Lois follows the Man of Steel, Clark Kent, and journalist Lois Lane as they navigate the strains of contemporary parenthood while confronting threats from supervillains and alien invaders, blending personal challenges with heroic responsibilities in this 2021 television series.
