While we’re all gearing up for the next big Arrowverse crossover that’s set to introduce Batwoman, it can be easy to forget how much planning goes into a massive undertaking such as this. I mean, it requires the combined efforts of people working on four separate television shows – Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow – to make it a reality. Each may share some of the same producers, sure, but that makes the task no less difficult.
So, as autumn inches ever closer, there are those who are prepared to not get as much sleep as they’d like, chief among them being actresses such as Candice Patton and Caity Lotz. Now having several of these rodeos behind them, the two ladies spoke of the challenges that accompany filming these crossovers while appearing at a panel hosted by PopSugar.
Here’s a transcript of that discussion:
Patton: “It is confusing, story wise. Half the time shooting, I have no idea what’s going on, where it is in the story. I constantly need someone to be like ‘What just happened? Where were we?’ It’s a lot. I really hope you guys enjoy those crossovers, because they damn near kill us every single year.”
Lotz: “We shoot all of them at the same time. It’s not like we shoot Flash’s and then Arrow’s and then Legends’, and then Supergirl’s. They’re all happening within the same two weeks. We shoot a two-hour movie in ten days.”
From the sound of it, these situations are very similar to how The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions and Enter The Matrix (a video game that tied in with those two sequels) were all shot simultaneously, with actors filming scenes pertaining to each installment on any given day.
They then elaborated as follows:
Patton: “You start, you wake up and you’re on Flash for a couple hours, and then they’re like ‘Okay, you’ve gotta go over to Legends. Legends needs you. And then Legends is backed up, so you’re waiting. And it’s just absolute insanity for the cast and crew and everyone. I don’t know how we do it.”
Lotz: “But it’s fun! Like sometimes, we get to carpool to work together, like ‘I’m on The Flash today!’”
The Flash returns for its fifth season on Tuesday, October 9 on The CW, with Legends of Tomorrow‘s fourth set to follow on Monday, October 22. As for the next Arrowverse crossover, that’s said to air in December.
