Sorry, but BATMAN Probably Isn’t Headed to ARROW

In case that wasn’t already apparent.

When Arrow started out back in 2012, it drew some heavy criticism for being ‘Batman-lite’. It featured a lot of his rogues gallery and both told stories of billionaires who trained overseas in a strange country to become a vigilante in their own city, wherein their corporations – which both have their last names plastered on them – play a big role. Oh, and they both have dead dads. The similarities on the show were pretty strong, but nonetheless plenty of fans were desperate for the CW to throw Bruce Wayne into its ever-growing roster of heroes.

Chatting at Wizard World Chicago recently (via ComicBook.com) was actor Stephen Amell, who has always been a very outspoken figurehead of the CW/DC Universe. He was asked about characters such as Batman or Superman ever appearing on the show, and from his explanation it sounds a lot like the classic corporation vs creator scenario.

“I had a conversation with Diane Nelson, who runs DC, and we spoke a lot about them wanting exclusivity of the universes and wanting separation. Her explanation revolves around making the best version of each thing, and not forcing crossovers just for the sake of forcing them. It’s gonna be tough to bring that into the show. In the same way that Ezra Miller is playing the Flash in the cinematic universe, I see no reason why we can’t have our own Bruce Wayne.”

I can see both sides of the argument. Obviously a guy like Stephen Amell is gonna want Batman to appear on Arrow because it would be a huge deal, but Batfleck hasn’t even appeared in a movie yet. Thanks to the Dark Knight Trilogy he’s probably DC’s biggest hero and they need to make sure his cinematic portrayal is definitive before introducing yet another Bruce Wayne. Of course, never say never, right?

Wayne Tech has already been referenced on The Flash, and even though I stopped watching Arrow a long time ago I remember there was a lot of speculation around a potential appearance from Nightwing at one point. Hell, Harley Quinn has even cameo’d. It seems as if Bruce Wayne (and maybe Batman) does exist in this universe but none of the shows really need to feature an appearance from him. They’re already big successes that can stand on their own two feet with large followings; perhaps if they were bombing in the ratings things would be a little different. For now, I think people are happy with watching the continued adventures of Oliver Queen and Barry Allen.