WARNING: This article includes spoilers from Superman & Lois season 2, episode 15.
After two seasons, Superman & Lois' status in the Arrowverse has finally been answered by the series and the executive producer has broken down the reveal. When it was first announced, it appeared that Superman & Lois would be the next entry in the Arrowverse as Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, who both appeared on Supergirl, would reprise their roles as Superman and Lois Lane respectively. The reveal of two teenage sons was teased at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths setting up Superman & Lois as part of the interconnected universe that also had The Flash, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow.
Yet audiences who tuned into Superman & Lois immediately started to question the series' relations to the other Arrowverse series, as the show stylistically did not resemble the other entries and no reference had been made to the wider universe. When Superman was missing, the series established that John Henry Iron's Steel took up the mantle of the world's protector but no mention was made about The Flash, Black Lightning, or most notably Supergirl. In the Superman & Lois season 2 finale, fans finally got the answer to the Arrowverse connections as General Sam Lane reveals that Superman is the only superhero on Earth, and he has witnessed worlds with leagues of superheroes, confirming that Superman & Lois is outside the Arrowverse canon.
In an interview with TVLine, Superman & Lois showrunner Todd Helbing breaks down the decision to separate the series from the rest of the Arrowverse. It was originally conceived as part of the Arrowverse and the pilot had a lot of references to other characters, the series decided to forge their own path with Superman and decided a while ago it would be separate but could not confirm it until now. It appears the connection was made back in season 1, which at the time was supposed to feature a crossover between Superman & Lois and Batwoman. However, this was canceled due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Helbing said:
From Day 1, there were questions of how we were connected to the Arrowverse. If you go back to the first script that got sent to Warner Brothers and DC, it had a lot of references to other heroes like The Flash. There were moments when we were shooting, and I think I’ve said this before, but there was a photo of Kara on Lois’ desk at the Daily Planet. All of that stuff got slowly pulled out, and the more we did that, the more it became a can of worms to even mention it. DC and I had a conversation during Season 1, and the decision [to keep Superman & Lois separate] was made then, but I couldn’t make it public until the end of this season. So when I got all these questions [in previous interviews], I knew what we were doing, but I could never talk about it. It got a little frustrating on my end, but I totally understand DC’s position. So this put that to rest. I’ve said from the beginning that we want to put our own stamp on the Superman property. This wasn’t meant to alienate us from the Arrowverse, but because a lot of the other shows are sadly no longer going to be on the air, it felt like the right thing to do. We have to think about this as a separate Superman, a doppelganger of the one who was in the Arrowverse. I understand why everyone has been wanting the references, but it would have felt wrong.
Superman & Lois' disconnection from the Arrowverse has many larger implications. The first is that The Flash is the last series set on Earth-Prime currently on the air following the cancelation of both Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow earlier this year. It also means that all four DC series, which alongside Superman & Lois and The Flash also include Stargirl and the upcoming Gotham Knights, take place in their own separate universes. With rumors circulating The Flash season 9 will be its last, the end of the Arrowverse could be near.
The other question is the appearance of John Diggle (David Ramsey) who appeared in both season 1 and season 2 of Superman & Lois. If Superman & Lois takes place apart from the Arrowverse, that means this incarnation of the character is different than the one fans first meet on Arrow. Ramsey is set to lead a series titled Justice U focused on teenage superheroes, possibly setting that series as part of the same universe as Superman & Lois rather than the Arrowverse as was first believed.
Source: TVLine