It seems DC’s cinematic universe and television universe are starting to interfere with each other. With an amazing catalogue of characters to use, DC and Warner Brothers have reportedly told the TV world to stop using characters that will appear in future films.
At MCM London Comic Con, Arrow star Willa Holland revealed that the show initially planned to have fan favourite Harley Quinn appear on the show, only to be told to pull the plug.
Because we had the Suicide Squad and these things inside of it, ARGUS. We were going really heavily into that for a minute. And then, something must have come down from DC or some higher-up above that said, ‘No, you must cease and desist because we’re going to make it into a movie and we can’t have anybody spoil that idea.’ We did get to see that little pigtail and the ARGUS uniform and the little treat of Harley Quinn, and it just got ripped away. So if we could actually have Harley Quinn on the show, that would be amazing. But it’s never going to happen.
With David Ayer’s big-budget Suicide Squad movie coming out in August 2016, the higher-ups didn’t want the iconic character, played in the film by Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), also appearing on TV with a different actress portraying the role.
Here’s the deleted scene from Arrow which Holland was referring to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZebyMLF86OM
This isn’t the first time a character on Arrow was pulled from the universe because of Suicide Squad. Michael Rowe’s Deadshot appeared in eight episodes of the series before he was abruptly killed off. Arrow co-showrunner Marc Guggenheim confirmed on his Tumblr that Rowe was taken off the show for time being.
This was a surprising development because it seemed like Deadshot and the rest of the Suicide Squad were on their way to getting a spinoff show. Writers did plenty of setup on Arrow, as multiple characters and story arcs were introduced, with a solid direction being teased. Unfortunately, with Suicide Squad being adapted to the big screen (with Will Smith playing Deadshot), those plans were put on hiatus.
Arrow writer Keto Shmizu told MTV that there were plans to do the show, but interference prevented it from happening.
“Obviously, DC, they’d rather not have multiple versions of their characters happening in film and TV. Certainly that affects what we’re allowed to do in regards to Suicide Squad. But at the same time we exist in a totally different universe, and our characters are going to be very different from their version of the characters … And as heartbreaking as that is [fan desire for a spinoff], and as much a lot of us would like to see a Suicide Squad TV show exist, in light of what’s happening in the film world, it doesn’t seem like it’s a possibility.”
That’s a major bummer. It also creates an interesting problem for the “Arrowverse” and future DC Movies.
The cinematic universe has priority over the TV universe, which makes sense as they make more money, but will any more characters disappear from the TV universe if DC decides to use them in their theatrical films? That’s unlikely for major characters (such as Green Arrow), but it’s fully possible that storylines are subverted in order to appease corporate concerns, which is a damn shame. Thankfully, the comic book universe is filled with plenty of properties, but the fewer iconic characters made available to appear in the TV universe, the more it hurts the small-screen product.
On the flip side, DC’s cinematic universe has no problem using the same characters as its TV universe. For the upcoming The Flash movie, writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller announced — to much Internet protest — that they would use the Barry Allen version of the character.
Lord said despite using the same character, it would differ heavily from the TV version we’ve grown to love.
“I believe [our Flash] is going to be Barry Allen. … It’s going to be it’s own [thing, apart from the TV show] – we’re more trying to stick with the cinematic universe… it really is its own thing, and kind of a stand-alone movie. We’re just trying to think of the best story. I think you guys will like it, it’s kind of a different take on superhero stuff.”
It’s easier to have more faith in Lord since we haven’t seen much from Ayer’s Suicide Squad so far, other than set photos and videos. But a Flash movie still infringes on the already established TV show. Why not adapt another character besides Barry Allen? There are plenty of variations, such as Jay Garrick or Wally West.
We’ve just had the first season of The Flash, and we’ll be in season three or four by the time the movie comes out, so maybe enough time will have passed to be ready for a new take on a familiar character.
DC should have borrowed a page from its competitor Marvel and cross its movie and TV universes over, although it’s now past the point of no return. But doing that allows for a much more cohesive universe, with plenty of opportunity for crossover. For Marvel, TV sets up the movies and movies influence the TV series. Instead, DC leaves us hoping they don’t fumble the ball by keeping their universes separate and depriving the TV wing of using its best characters for their shows.
