Stephen Amell has recently said that Crisis on Earth-X is really big and that The CW may have to change their approach to the annual crossover events from now onwards. The CW’s hugest Arrowverse crossover kicks off on Supergirl and Arrow on a night. The following evening shall see a 4-part wrap up with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow at the normal time. From what has been seen by fans so far in the trailers, it is a project like never seen before.
It is the name of its game as the first ever crossover between Arrow and The Flash which is turned into a rating winner and demonstrated what a firm grasp of the DCU The CW’s then-2 productions had. The Arrowverse has doubled its size and is adding Supergirl and Legends, making its annual gathering a huge commitment for the network and also the actors that are involved especially after Crisis has reportedly unfolded many more like a 4-hour movie than as separate interconnected installments.
This requires a few intense scheduling, and as Amell has told those taking part in an Arrow set visit, the lessons learned from Crisis have to inspire a few changes for the next event. Amell said:
“Not to get too inside baseball here, but they have made it bigger than ever… The crossovers this year took up six full weeks of shooting. I think that in order for us to continue down this path, we as productions, and The CW, as the network, and Warner Bros., as the studio, are going to have to fundamentally re-conceive how we execute these because this sort of broke the schedule mold. I mean it just simply didn’t fit.
I think that if we’re going to shoot it like a big four-hour movie, we have to board it like a big four-hour movie. We have to prioritize the schedules of the people that are going to be working the most, if that’s me, if that’s Melissa, if that’s Caity Lotz, if that’s Grant. It’s going to change year over year based off of story. It really is, for the first time, it’s an event. It’s not a crossover anymore. Call it the crossover if you want. But it’s kind of like calling the Super Bowl just a football game. Yeah, sure, they play football, but there’s so much other stuff that goes on with it. It’s an event.”
Amell’s comments give a few insights into how the crossovers are made and the commitment they need from the cast and crew of the productions. As Amell had said, Oliver Queen enjoys a huge role in Crisis on Earth-X like his doppelgänger. This means that actors like Amell and Melissa Benoist were pulling double-duty to ensure that both sides of the conflict were represented. Given the sort of workload in the middle of a season, it is no wonder that Amell would like to see the crossovers blocked out and scheduled very differently.
With any luck, the length production on Crisis shall pay off. The downside to the crossover event finding its success shall mean that next year’s would have to be that much bigger.
Crisis on Earth-X begins Monday, @8pm with Supergirl and Arrow. It continues on Tuesday @8pm with The Flash and Legends of Tommorrow.
