We’re Soon Going To Need A Multiverse Map For DC TV Shows And Movies

Okay, let’s see if I’ve got this all straight. We’ve got Arrow and The Flash, sharing a universe, on The CW this fall. The unconnected Gotham is making its debut in just a few weeks on Fox, along with Constantine on NBC. That’s three different worlds right there.

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Warner Bros. is trying to develop a Supergirl show, network so far unknown. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that show gets made and doesn’t end up on The CW or Fox, meaning it’s off on its own. This week’s news was about a Teen Titans show on TNT. That might not tie into any of the others, though The CW is owned by the same parent company, so there’s a chance. If it doesn’t, we’re up to five different fictional continuities just on TV.

Also on the horizon is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which thus far has shown no indication (despite Stephen Amell’s wishes) that is has anything to do with DC’s existing TV shows. If someone other than Grant Gustin is cast as the Flash for the Justice League movie, that will seal it: the movies have their own world. Oh, and it appears the Shazam movie featuring Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam will not be set in the same fictional universe as Batman, Superman and company inhabit.

In the worst case scenario, we’ve got seven different DC universes floating around out there come 2016. At best, Supergirl and the Teen Titans are in the Arrow-verse and Shazam exists on the same world as the Justice League, which would still leave us with four, as I don’t think there’s any way Gotham or Constantine join any of the others.

Please don’t take this as a personal criticism. As a longtime DC comics reader, I’m just fine with the Multiverse concept. Crisis on Infinite Earths was and still is one of my favorite events. I won’t have any trouble keeping it all straight, and I don’t suspect any other hardcore comics fans will care as long as the shows and movies are good. The super-connected Marvel approach doesn’t have to be in play here.

But for the non-comics person or young fan, this is a headache waiting to happen. I’m already not looking forward to explaining this to the wife and kids. DC, if you’d be so kind, please start working on a map like the one above for TV and movies now. It’ll come in handy within the next year, I’m sure.