It was announced today that two new entries into the Arrow-verse are in the works at the CW: Vixen and Atom.
At the Television Critics Association press tour, CW president Mark Pedowitz announced The CW is planning to expand the Arrow-verse, which is already home to sister series — and most-watched show on the network — The Flash.
The first new entry will be an animated series, Vixen, based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The series will be helmed by Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim and launch on the CW Seed online platform.
In the comics, Vixen, aka Mari Jiwe McCabe, has a mystical totem that allows her to channel the abilities of animals, one at a time. She has been, among others, a member of the Justice League and Birds of Prey.
The network has also released some official promo art for the upcoming project, teasing a tie in with the Arrow and Flash:
The second new entry into the Arrow-verse will potentially be an Atom spinoff, based on Brandon Routh’s Arrow character, Ray Palmer.
According to Arrow EP Greg Berlanti, “We’re in very early talks in a very general idea that we haven’t gone deeper on yet.”
Routh was initially hesitant to return to the DC universe after playing Superman in Superman Returns. However, because his experience on Arrow has been “amazing,” he’d “like to keep playing the character as long as possible.”
In the DC Comics, the Atom has the ability to shrink himself to subatomic size using white dwarf star material — something that has gotten a recent mention on Arrow as Ray has taken over the former Queen Consolidated’s applied sciences division. He has expressed his desire to protect and help Starling City reach its potential.