Last month, it was announced that The CW is to extend its DC output with a spin-off show from Arrow and The Flash, which will feature the likes of Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/The Atom), Victor Garber (Martin Stein/Firestorm), Wentworth Miller (Leonard Snart/Captain Cold) and Caity Lotz, who portrayed Sara Lance/Black Canary on Arrow.
At PaleyFest this past weekend, Variety caught up with producer Greg Berlanti, who offered up a few words on the thinking behind the new spin-off series:
“For us, first and foremost, with all of [our shows], it’s about ‘how is it its own thing?’ Because we don’t just want to do it to do it. Some people do that and then they’re three episodes in, thinking, ‘Why did we do this?’ So for me, I compare the shows to old Westerns; we have a lot of lone gunmen and sheriffs in town, and this one is very much an ode to things like The Magnificent Seven or those great heist pics like Ocean’s Eleven where you get all of those colors at the same time, and a true ensemble, and that was the fun of it.”
SEE ALSO: Watch the Paleyfest 2015 sizzle reels for Arrow and The Flash
In addition to the aforementioned cast members, it was announced that at least three new DC characters would make their small screen debut in the new show, and Berlanti went on to offer up a few comments about the roster:
“In picking them, it was very much about picking, ‘who are some of the most popular characters we’ve created?’ and also, tonally, who went with who? How disparate could we make it? And we’re also introducing these three new characters that we’re casting right now… I think it’s really important that we have another female hero on the show, and this one is really exciting. I can’t wait for people to find out — we just have to cast it right, as always. And then you want that Rat Pack-y kind of vibe of all this crew hanging out, as disparate and as different as they are.”
And finally, Deadline has revealed that Dominic Purcell is set to reprise his role as Mick Rory / Heatwave from The Flash, reuniting with Prison Break co-star and fellow Rogue Wentworth Miller in the new series, which is expected to launch midseason next year.
Are you looking forward to the Flash/Arrow spin-off, and what do you think the premise could be? Let us know your thoughts…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&v=ONsp_bmDYXc&feature=player_embedded
Originally published March 17, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
