Entertainment Weekly Reveals New Plot Details and Photos for ‘Elseworlds’
Entertainment Weekly got the chance to go behind the scenes of the Elseworlds crossover last month and now they’ve revealed the first plot details of this year’s highly anticipated Arrowverse event.
According to EW, the three night event begins with Arkham Asylum doctor John Deegan (Jeremy Davies) rewriting reality in a way that causes Barry (Grant Gustin) and Oliver (Stephen Amell) to switch lives, and leaves them as the only two who remember what the world should be like. This certainly explains what’s going on in the first two promos released for the crossover earlier this week (which you can see here and here).
Being from another earth, Kara (Melissa Benoist) comes in to help as she is one of the only ones who can see the heroes for who they really are. “She inevitably becomes kind of a middleman,” Benoist told EW, “because ultimately there’s conflict between the two and they start butting heads.”
“You’re not going to see me playing Oliver Queen’s mannerisms.” Gustin said to EW, “It’s more being aware that for some reason we’ve switched lives and destinies. It’s more the fun of the situational comedy that we keep finding ourselves I, and less us having a complete role reversal. We get to see Stephen do some of the more goofy speed stuff I have to do on a regular basis, and I get some actual combat as Green Arrow. So, we just see different colors for each of us.”
Amell agreed, saying “Having superpowers is crazy! Wearing the Flash suit is crazy! The idea is that in order to be the best version of Barry Allen, which I have to be because we face a threat, there are elements of his personality that I have to embrace, and there are elements of my personality that he has to embrace.”
The role reversal not only makes Elseworlds funnier than previous events, it also allows the creative teams to really focus in on their lead trinity of characters in a way they haven’t been able to in previous events. “The most fun aspect about really focusing on the leads is we really had a chance to tell a story about the troika that we’ve never really been able to do before,” Arrow consulting producer Marc Guggenheim told EW, “the amount of time we had Grant and Stephen and Melissa on screen together was actually pretty minimal in other crossovers compared to this year.” It’s a decision that seems to have paid off, as EW describes seeing the three leads bounce off each other in a rare low-stakes scene a thrill to see.
Whilst the focus may be on the Arrowverse’s trinity, they certainly aren’t the only heroes who will appear on screen. Ruby Rose’s Batwoman will make her debut in the second part of the event and EW caught up with her whilst on set. “It’s a strange feeling to put on a suit like this that has been custom made for you knowing that it’s going to transform you into a character that does amazing things. You feel very empowered and it just instantly changes everything you feel in that moment.”
Rose was on the set of Arkham Asylum, filming a scene where Batwoman takes down two inmates trying to escape using Batarangs and a grappling hook, and her character’s not too pleased when the Arrowverse’s trinity arrive in her city. “Kate does not want to deal with this,” Rose told EW. “She has a whole other agenda, a whole other life that she’s trying to sort out right now, and these frigging superheroes come in and they’re a mess, and they need her help.”
Batwoman’s appearance in the second part of the crossover is mainly a tease, a way to get audiences excited for her own potential series which is currently in development. “There’s a lot of mystery to her,” says Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz, “which I think will be intriguing, and people will want more after they watch, for sure.”
Even though Batwoman’s only appearing in one episode, we’ll still get a good feel for both halves of her life. “She will interact with our heroes both as Batwoman and Kate Kane, so you’ll see both sides of that character and that performance.” Guggenheim told EW. Whilst Batwoman is more stoic and, to quote Guggenheim, “kind of a dick”, Kate Kane is the opposite. “She’s swaggy,” Rose says, “She always knew who she was, but she’s really coming into knowing who she is.”
Being the first Bat character in the Arrowverse brings with it some pretty demanding expectations, and according to Rose’s colleagues and co-stars she’s going to exceed them. “She has that aura of cool, nonchalant, somewhat aloof, mixed with charming and thoughtful and funny that it just kind of all made sense for her to be Kate,” said Batwoman producer Caroline Dries, who had creative input on all the character’s scenes in Elseworlds.
When asked about Batwoman’s appearance in the crossover event, Amell told EW “I don’t think there could be a better person for it than Ruby. We shot a scene with her last night, and her exchange with Grant was just, ‘Oh, ok, this is Batwoman.’ I think people are really going to appreciate it.”
For Rose herself, it’s about more than simply being a hero. It’s about being a role model. “The fact that she is an outwardly gay superhero, which is something growing up I would’ve loved to have seen on my TV, was a big deciding factor as to what I was so passionate about the role. This just meant a lot more to me because I could relate in so many ways and, at the same time, felt like this was a job that would give me a purpose every day coming into work beyond just getting to live my dream, which is acting, and would be far more rewarding than anything I’ve done in the past.”
With the EW reveals, it now looks likely that Batwoman and her Gotham City will be from Arrow and Flash‘s Earth-1, not Supergirl’s Earth-38 as many, including myself, had speculated. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be travelling the multiverse during the event. In addition to Rose’s Batwoman debut, Elseworlds will feature the return of John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen from the classic Flash series, the arrival of The Monitor, the return of Superman and the debut of Lois Lane, and a mysterious black suited Superman.
Elseworlds begins December 9 with The Flash and continues in Arrow and Supergirl.
Chris is a lifelong fan of Disney, Star Wars and super heroes who can’t quite believe this golden age of movies and TV we’re living in. Having written blogs dedicated to Disney’s Aladdin musical and Star Wars Celebration, Chris is excited to be part of the MNN team.
