Though Arrow is often regarded as being the father of the appropriately titled “Arrowverse” – and rightfully so – it’s important we not forget how Smallville laid the groundwork several years before. Hey, had it not introduced its own version of Oliver Queen, played by Justin Hartley, and featured a myriad of other guest DC heroes and villains, then The CW would’ve never pondered a solo series focused on the Emerald Archer in the first place.
Now, in 2018, we’re sitting here anticipating what looks to be a truly awesome crossover event in the form of “Elseworlds.” And despite it coming to fruition long after Tom Welling put Clark Kent behind him, the shadow of the Superman prequel series looms large.
As you may remember, it was confirmed not long ago how the exterior location used for the Kent farm on Smallville will return during the crossover, this time serving as the bucolic home for the latest iteration of Clark and Lois. But if that weren’t enough, Stephen Amell continued revving the hype engine by teasing the following during a Facebook live stream:
“It is not a Smallville reunion, although I think it becomes pretty clear in the promos for the crossover that there are Smallville elements, at least, in terms of location. And if you’re a fan of Smallville, and I have no idea if they’re going to keep this in the final cut, but there’s a treat in there that, I swear. Full disclosure, I’ve never seen an episode of Smallville before, sorry! I wasn’t that into comic book TV shows when I grew up. I’ve since seen a couple, for very obvious reasons. But as someone who wasn’t a diehard fan of Smallville, this moment made me jump out of my seat. If you’re a fan of Smallville, you may want to put down rubber sheets or something like that. Because, quite frankly, you might piss you pants.”
Based on that, it may be safe to rule out a cameo made by Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum, which folks extrapolated from a picture showing them in the company of Amell, but you never know. At this point, we don’t know what kind of curveballs will be thrown.
And if Welling and Rosenbaum are no shows, then perhaps it’s time for the Powers That Be to contemplate an Arrowverse-Smallville crossover for next year. Hey, with alternate universes being explored so regularly, the possibility exists – not to mention the certainty of fans going bananas.
One way or another, we’ll find out what’s going on when “Elseworlds” begins on Sunday, December 9 with The Flash, continues on Monday, December 10 with Arrow, and wraps up on Tuesday, December 11 with Supergirl.