Posted in: Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, CW, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: arrow, batwoman, bleeding cool, cable, comic books, Comics, crisis, dc, dc comics, katana, Legends of Tomorrow, streaming, supergirl, television, The Flash, tv

"Arrow" Season 8: Rila Fukushima's Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana Returning for E02 "Welcome to Hong Kong"

Now that we find ourselves in August and creeping ever so cloer to the fall, now's a good time to update ourselves on pre-season news before The CW's "Arrowverse" shows return. With Arrow shuffling off the network's programming coil after an abbreviated eighth season (making The Flash the "elder states-show" of the "Arrowverse"), Ruby Rose-starrer Batwoman joining the family, and a looming "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover that could change things dramatically (more on that below), the 2019-2020 season isn't exactly going to be lacking in change – and the news hasn't slowed down.

One thing the Arrow team has promised fans: the final season is going to be filled with a righteous amount of familiar faces – this time, GreenArrowTV.com is reporting that Rila Fukushima will return to the role of Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana in the season's second episode, "Welcome to Hong Kong." Katana has been MIA from the series since the fourth season, and no other details were released about her return – and with "Crisis" in play, would it even be the Yamashiro/Katana viewers know.

Earlier this week, the CW had its turn once again at the Television Critics Association (TCA) summer press event – this time, for the last time. Taking part in the session were stars Stephen Amell and David Ramsey, as well as executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Beth Schwartz.

Here's a look at the "reveals" from the panel:

● Season 8 picks up approximately a week after the ending of the seventh season.

● Season 8 is "fundamentally different" from previous seasons, with each episode on "event" and the series as fans knew it ending with season 7 and Felcity's exit.

● Original Crisis on Infinite Earths scribe Marv Wolfman penned the television version with Guggenheim.

● Katie Cassidy Rodgers (Laurel Lance aka Black Canary aka Black Siren) is directing the third episode of the season – as confirmed here:

● Guggenheim "I think when I read about some line, people are asking us questions, they're thinking about things in a very binary way… They are thinking A or B – we have a Z plan."

● Schwartz's "The whole season is basically our greatest hits" line screams a ton more guest stars to come – but no new ones revealed.

● Discussions about surviving characters being blended into other shows are constantly at play, so the Arrow series finale may not be the on-screen end for some characters

● The season's eighth epsiode will be the "Crisis" crossover episode – comprising the fourth hour of the crossover:

Supergirl – Sunday, December 8th (8/7c)

Batwoman – Monday, December 9th (8/7c)

The Flash – Tuesday, December 10th (8/7c)

Arrow – Tuesday, January 14, 2020 (8/7c)

DC's Legends of Tomorrow – Tuesday, January 14, 2020 (9/8c)

● Guggenheim adding Black Lightning to the crossover fit with the overall theme of "Crisis" in that anything is possible: "It's not 'Crisis on CW Earths', it's 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'."

Viewers can't say they weren't warned in advance. At the end of 2018's CW Arrowverse "Elseworlds" crossover that brought together The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl (and nearly DC's Legends of Tomorrow, but they let it go to machine – way too busy for all that), we saw that the end was only the beginning… of the end. As Barry (Grant Gustin) and Oliver (Amell) shared what felt like a final toast and Kate Kane's Batwoman (Rose) returned to protecting the streets of Gotham – with a sense that something felt a little off –  we got a small taste of what's still to come in 2019…

"Crisis on Infinite Earths!" Worlds will live! Worlds will die!

And the CW's "Arrowverse" will never be the same…

At CW's 2019 May Upfronts presentation, the network offered a few "'Crisis' management" clues for info-starved fans. This year's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover will include Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman; the entire story will be five hours long; and the event will air over two quarters (3 episodes in December 2019, 2 episodes January 2020). There were initial concerns that DC's Legends of Tomorrow would not be involved – as the series won't be returning until midseason – but the announcement resolved that matter.

Curiously enough, Black Lightning is not listed as participating in the crossover event – surprising considering the "infinte earths" aspect lends itself to "guest appearances" from a number of televised DC properties (past and present) that aren't directly connected to the CW's properties. With that said? We're trusting our instincts, which tell us the Pierce family will be residing in the "Arrowverse" by the time the red skies clear.

CW

For most of their respective seasons, things have been "All Quiet on the 'Crisis' Front" when it came to Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl – but that changed in a big way during their respective season finales… even for DC's Legends of Tomorrow!

In Arrow season finale "You Have Saved This City," the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) returns to cash in on the favor that Oliver owes him: help him save the multiverse – taking a moment to tell him the "fine print": Oliver's going to die during "Crisis" and there's nothing the Monitor can do to stop it.

Then there's that matter of Future Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and the trip she's taking with the Monitor to see Oliver… somewhere… and it's apparently a place she can't come back from. Hmmm…

https://youtu.be/XGoeR7qf14o

Over at The Flash season finale "Legacy," some recent maneuverings with Time moved up the date on Barry's "red skies/2024" newspaper warning just a wee bit… to say, 2019?

The fourth season finale of Supergirl "The Quest for Peace" had The Monitor speaking to a hooded figure, telling him that now is the time for him to lead "his people" and to take revenge on his captor… and brother: J'onn J'onzz (David Harewood). Meanwhile, just because Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) may have shuffled off this mortal coil (???) doesn't mean his role in the upcoming "Crisis" is over quite yet…

DC's Legends of Tomorrow season finale "Hey, World!" found the plan to take down Neron (Brandon Routh) resulting in a major status quo change for Zari (Tala Ashe) – a change that the suddenly-appearing Monitor does not appear to approve of in any way, shape, or form. At least he got some popcorn out of it – and yes, that is The Book of Destiny he's using to balance it.

The CW's Batwoman and Supergirl premiere Sunday, October 6; while The Flash premieres Tuesday, October 8, with Arrow joining them on October 15. Black Lightning premieres the following week, on Monday, October 21.

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