Despite not being picked up to series, there are other ways for Green Arrow and the Canaries to happen still. The Arrowverse is going in several directions this year as the franchise is changing quite a lot. Not only is Supergirl coming to an end, but Black Lightning season 4 will be the show’s final season as well. Batwoman is making Arrowverse history as it replaces its series lead with a brand new character with Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder, after Ruby Rose decided to exit the drama. Superman & Lois will bring the Man of Steel back to the small screen on full time as the next spinoff show in the franchise.
Currently, The CW has not one, but three different DC TV shows in the works, including Wonder Girl, that could potentially join the slate for the 2021-2022 TV season. However, one Arrowverse show that had a lot of anticipation in going forward was the Arrow spinoff Green Arrow and the Canaries. Ahead of the final season of Arrow, The CW was developing a female team-up show featuring Mia Queen and the two Black Canaries, Dinah Laurel Lance, and Dinah Drake. A backdoor pilot was seeded into Arrow season 8 as the penultimate episode of the series. But despite a promising idea, The CW, after almost a full year, opted to not go forward with Green Arrow and the Canaries.
As unfortunate as the series cancellation was, it does seem like the global pandemic was a key factor according to executive producer Marc Guggenheim. The pandemic has, understandably, caused several shows (new and old) to be scrapped because of budgetary concerns and production issues. For the Arrowverse, it now leaves the trio’s fate in the franchise up in the air as there were a number of unresolved plots in the backdoor pilot. But even though it will not be happening as a live-action TV series in the Arrowverse, there are other ways for Green Arrow and the Canaries to still come to fruition.
In one way or another, the Arrowverse has to find a way to wrap up what the backdoor pilot set up for Green Arrow and the Canaries. From a mysterious villain restoring pre-Crisis memories to Mia and others to Dinah somehow being trapped in 2040, there’s a lot that the ensemble concept did in that episode. While a TV show isn’t possible at this point, there is a different medium that the creators could consider. The Arrowverse has been adapted as tie-in comics in the past for Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and even one for Crisis on Infinite Earths.
A limited comic series (or even as a graphic novel) would be an easy and less expensive way to at least resolve those plot points. After all, something like William being kidnapped at the end of the episode by an unknown foe has to get a conclusion. It wouldn’t be the first Greg Berlanti-produced show to get a comic after being canceled, since Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will be doing its season 5 arc on the page rather than on-screen. Having a 6-issue run where fans can get the resolution to all of these plots would allow Green Arrow and the Canaries to live on off-screen, but with at least their big storylines wrapped up.
One of the big intrigues about Green Arrow and the Canaries was the fact that it would have been the first Arrowverse show to be set in the future. All the other shows are currently set in the present time, except for Legends of Tomorrow. The Waverider-centered show focuses on the past, present, and future, which is how the canceled Arrowverse spinoff has an opportunity to still happen. Even if it can’t be as a whole season arc, Legends of Tomorrow could do a storyline that lasts for an episode or three where Sara Lance and her team visit Star City 2040 to meet the trio.
Since Laurel (despite it being the Earth-2 version) is her sister, it would be an organic way for the time-traveling crew to get involved with what’s going on in the future. There is also the established dynamic between Sara and Mia as they bonded during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Through a mini-arc on Legends of Tomorrow, it would allow Green Arrow and the Canaries to be concluded on-screen with Kat McNamara, Katie Cassidy, and Juliana Harkavy appearing in guest appearances. It would also be a fun way for the time-travel drama to actually go into the future for once, which doesn’t happen very often.
The Arrowverse not only has a history of doing tie-in comics but also animated shows. One of the additional platforms that The CW has is the digital service CW Seed that hosts original shows as well as other series that the network has acquired. For the Arrowverse, there are several of them, as they had Vixen, which introduced Mari McCabe into the franchise with Megalyn Echikunwoke playing her in animation and live-action. There was also Freedom Fighters: The Ray that partially set up the Crisis on Earth-X crossover. While not set in the Arrowverse, CW Seed also produced Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons that focused on Slade Wilson.
Even if Green Arrow and the Canaries might not be considered for a long-lasting series, having an animated format with a handful of episodes would be a smart approach. With the ongoing pandemic making production challenging, doing an animated series would be a lot easier as it would only require the actors to lend their voices. By also doing it as animated, it could pave the way for additional cameos by other Arrowverse characters that otherwise would have been tricky if it had been in live-action due to scheduling. It would also let CW Seed finally produce an Arrowverse-animated project again.
At the end of the day, Green Arrow and the Canaries is a story that deserves to be told in one way or another. The backdoor pilot set up a great concept that ultimately allows Oliver’s Green Arrow legacy to live on through Mia. But it would have also given the Black Canaries a way to shine in ways that they didn’t always get to while on Arrow. It would have also been a huge step forward in allowing more female superheroes to be featured on-screen. Despite Green Arrow and the Canaries being canceled, it doesn’t mean Mia, Laurel, and Dinah have to be done with the Arrowverse.
Originally from https://screenrant.com/green-arrow-canaries-show-cancelled-continue-legends-tomorrow/