Highlights
- Melissa Benoist, who portrayed Supergirl in the Arrowverse, has expressed interest in reprising her role in the new DCU.
- The Arrowverse, a successful interconnected franchise, came to an end with the final season of The Flash.
- Despite the lack of crossover between the Arrowverse and the mainline DCU, recruiting seasoned actors from the Arrowverse can be a good step for the success of the new DCU.
As the new DCU outlined by James Gunn and Peter Safran draws closer to fruition, Supergirl star Melissa Benoist has come forward and expressed interest in joining the new DCU, commenting on the possibility of reprising their role in the small-screen DC continuity on the larger stage.
Starting with the eponymous Arrow in 2012, the Arrowverse was a media franchise and shared universe consisting of various comic book characters and properties from the pages of DC Comics and its imprints, including Supergirl. The franchise organically began to fold over time, with each show coming to an end until all the mainline entries finally came to a head with the final season of The Flash, the Arrowverse curtain call that included Arrow's Stephen Amell and many others returning to send off the franchise.
Since then, the possibility of James Gunn, who took over as the head of DC's Film division alongside Peter Safran, using some of the assets, storylines, or stars that the Arrowverse introduced to fans has been a matter of earnest desire amongst many Arrowverse admirers. Benoist, who portrayed Supergirl in 6 seasons of her show and many crossover events, has expressed her interest in reprising the role via a video on her Cameo page. In a birthday message to a fan, Benoist mused, "Who knows if I may put on the suit again? We’ll see. I have one that I sneakily took when we ended the show. Don’t tell anyone. This is a secret. A big one, actually. But yeah, I do have a suit in my attic, and I would love to play the character again. We’ll see what happens.”
Cameo is a site that allows celebrities from all fields to interact with fans and sees many stars, like wrestling legend Ric Flair, making a ton of money on the platform via making custom video messages for fans. It was in one such message that Benoist teased her interest in reprising the role. The star also expressed her delight at hearing about her fans and her time working on her show. “So happy to hear that you’re a fan of the show and my character,” Benoist remarked. “I love playing Supergirl. That’s so cool you grew up watching the shows. They were really really fun to work on."
Others involved in the Arrowverse have shown interest in joining the mainline DCU, including stars like Grant Gustin. However, there has been almost no crossover between the two, even after the leadership change with the Gunn/Safran administration. This seeming disregard led Arrowverse co-creator Marc Guggenheim to admit that he felt like he had wasted his time on the franchise, as there had not been so much as a meeting or consultation with him despite spending the better part of a decade crafting a largely successful live-action DC universe.
The DCEU, under previous franchise head Zack Snyder, was never clear of some degree of controversy and fan dissatisfaction. However, the former president of WB has confirmed that the Snyderverse was at least profitable. Conversely, the Arrowverse enjoyed a dedicated fanbase and praise for its casting choices and more within the same period, despite being similarly unpopular with more critical audiences late in its life cycle. If Gunn and Safran strive to make the DCU the success that it could be, then learning from the Arrowverse and even recruiting its seasoned actors can be a good step in the right direction.
Supergirl is available on Netflix.
Source: Melissa Benoist/Cameo