Posted in: CW, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: arrowverse, hbo max, superman & lois, the cw, warner bros discovery

Time to Start Worrying About The Future of The CW's Superman & Lois?

As much as it may seem like that headline is pure, uncut clickbait, I wasn't expecting to have to write that headline at the start of what I was hoping would be a fun, stress-free Halloween. And I'm also not a big fan of even having to ask the question about the popular Tyler Hoechlin & Elizabeth Tulloch-starring Superman & Lois. But after the past week or so, it's a legit question because a number of different news threads are beginning to converge. First, we learned that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be leading the new DC Studios & reporting directly to Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav as they reinvent the WBD's DCU. Shortly after that, actor Henry Cavill shared a video via social media to let fans know that he would be returning as Superman and how Black Adam was just the beginning. Then, this past weekend brought the news that Cavill would be exiting Netflix's The Witcher ahead of its fourth season (with Season 3 hitting next year and Liam Hemsworth taking over as Geralt). Okay, so that's the WBD/DCU side of things.

Then there's the matter of The CW, with Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global greatly reducing their ownership stake and selling the network to Nexstar Media. Since that deal was finalized, all signs have pointed to Nexstar going in a more cost-effective and "family-friendly" direction. Since the deal was finalized, it was confirmed that the Grant Gustin & Candice Patton-starring The Flash would be wrapping its run with ano abbreviated, 13-episode ninth season. And then came the news earlier today that the Brec Bassinger-starring DC's Stargirl will end its run with its current third season, with the series finale hitting early in December.

And now, we could be seeing both narratives colliding in a not-so-good way. If Nexstar is going in the direction with The CW that it appears to be going in, it would seem off that they would want to carry the price tag that comes with a show like Superman & Lois. But it can always move to HBO Max, right? Usually, that's the direction I would subscribe to. But now, WBD has their Superman back in Cavill, so much so that you could infer that Cavill stepped away from The Witcher because of big "The Man of Steel" plans ahead that may take shape sooner rather than later. Would WBD want a "competing" Superman taking attention away from Cavill on their own streaming service? Maybe, if they buy into their own previous "multiverse" talk. But Hoechlin is really, really popular. I mean, social media was more than okay with him taking over for Cavill if the latter decided to hang up his cape. So I'm not sure how much of that they would want muddying the waters of a smooth Cavill return rollout. Unless we get a decision ahead of time, keep an eye out for how WBD handles the Superman films that are in development. That could be a harbinger of The CW series' fate.

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