The CW is shaking things up with its fall schedule and has teased us with a suitably amazing synopsis for the next season of Legends of Tomorrow, but this may be its greatest trick yet: welcoming Batwoman and Gotham City officially into the Arroverse.  According to EW, Arrow star Stephen Amell made the announcement during the network's upfront presentation on Thursday, saying that:

“We’re incredibly excited to announce that we’ll be doing another crossover event this fall on the CW, and we’ll be introducing a new character. For the very first time appearing, we’ll be fighting alongside Batwoman, which is terrific. The crossover is going to make it to air in December. I need to leave right now and start filming it.”

CW President Mark Pedowitz also mentioned (just to be clear): “We are adding the city of Gotham into the Arrowverse. This will be another full-throttled, action-packed event.”

It's been quite a week for all things Batman, with the announcement that Gotham will be returning in 2019 for its fifth and final season, and Epix has picked up a prequel series focused on Alfred Pennyworth. But this isn't the first time that The CW has flirted with the idea of introducing Batman into its Arrowverse canon. In a clip from an Arrow episode last fall, Oliver Queen name drops Bruce Wayne as, essentially, the "other" playboy billionaire.

Is it a terrible idea? Well, our own Evan Valentine argued back in 2016 that introducing Batman into the Arrowverse could be just what that world needs, especially since we've already met Superman. But for now, we'll be getting Batwoman and more Gotham references, which is a pretty big step. It's not fighting aliens or other Earths, but honestly, the crossover could use a little grounding (as Amell insinuated in his quotes -- it's a massive undertaking for all involved).

Let us know what you think about the news in the comments. The season finale of Arrow airs tonight, while the season finale of The Flash airs next Tuesday, all on the CW.

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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW