Superman & Lois could have featured a few nods to the greater televised DC universe if not for the pandemic. TV Line spoke with showrunner Todd Helbing, who notes that the pandemic shook things up for the freshman series in ways that no one could have seen coming.
When writers were planning the first season of the newest CW superhero drama, they planned to have the series tie into other Arrowverse shows. There would have been a nod to Supergirl and a crossover with Batwoman, but neither event happened.
COVID-19 prevented a Superman & Lois/Supergirl crossover
Helbing explained what the Supergirl crossover would have entailed: “It got cut out for time, but when Lois quits and she’s walking down the hall towards the elevator and she grabs some things from her desk, one of the things she’s holding is a picture with her, Kara and Clark.”
There were also plans for a Batwoman crossover, timed to the arrival of Javicia Leslie in season 2, but pandemic filming restrictions made it impossible to get the two casts together.
Though restrictions are loosening in many parts of the world, Superman & Lois films in Vancouver, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about how crossovers would work in the future. Given the costs of shutting down production due to outbreaks or exposure, crossovers might not be worth the risk.
Still, Helbing says, they want to see what’s possible for future crossover events. “ just halted everything,” he said. “And the further away we got from the Crisis of it all, the more it felt like we were opening a can of worms every time we had to explain the connection. We’ll see how this all pans out for next season.”
Superman & Lois has been given the green light for season 2, so there is every reason to hope that more tie-ins and crossovers are possible for the future, though they might be even more challenging now that Supergirl is coming to an end this season. Even so, the Arrowverse is always expanding, and thanks to great stories like the Crisis crossover event, there are plenty of ways to bring everyone together.
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h/t SyFy Wire