"Crisis on Infinite Earths" CW: Netflix prepares with 2 classic DC films

A crisis is coming to your TV this fall, and it seems Netflix wants DC fans to be prepared. Two classic movies from the DC franchise are set to arrive on Netflix on October 1, which gives fans plenty of time before the crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths” on The CW commences later in the month.

On Wednesday, Netflix revealed its new content offerings for October 2019. Among new shows, like the Mexican martial arts anime Seis Manos, Big Mouth Season 3, an adaptation of the Stephen King/Joe Hill novella In the Tall Grass, and El Camino that is a full-blown sequel to Breaking Bad, two DC movies will be added to the streaming library.

1984’s Supergirl starring Helen Slater, and 2006’s Superman Returns starring Brandon Routh, will be made available on Netflix starting October 1.

While Helen Slater’s Supergirl is only rumored to appear in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Brandon Routh’s Superman will get a Kingdom Come makeover in the crossover special. Routh is expected to do double duty as he’ll also appear in his starring role as Ray Palmer/The Atom from Legends of Tomorrow.

Subscribers to DC Universe already have the ability to stream Supergirl, but its availability on Netflix can give the movie a wider audience. Despite its bad reviews upon its release in 1984, the movie, which starred Helen Slater as Superman’s cousin Kara, has become a cult classic for DC fans.

The film was a spin-off of the Superman film series that starred Christopher Reeve, but he did not feature in Supergirl. In recent years, Slater paid homage to her role in recurring roles on the TV shows Smallville and Supergirl.

Meanwhile, 2006’s Superman Returns is increasingly significant as Brandon Routh will revisit his Superman in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” As revealed at Comic-Con in San Diego earlier this Summer, Routh’s Superman will be aged and wear a costume similar to the costume of Superman in Kingdom Come, Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ modern classic miniseries that told of an alternate DC Universe in turmoil.

Superman Returns, a sequel to Richard Donner’s first two Superman films (it ignored III and IV: The Quest for Peace) starred Routh as the Man of Steel who returns to Earth to find life a little different: Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), disillusioned with Superman, is the mother of a young child with a husband. But some things are still the same, with Lex Luthor (Kevin Space, before allegations of sexual assault) concocting new plans to take over Metropolis.

It is unknown exactly if Routh’s Superman in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” a loose adaptation of the seminal 1985 crossover series that rebooted the DC Universe, will be the same Superman from the film or a different Superman that just so happens to be played by Routh.

Either way, there’s a whole mess of Krypton coming to Netflix, and for some of the Arrowverse’s younger fans, they’ve got homework to do before the crisis.

“Crisis on Infinite Earths” premieres with Supergirl on October 6 at 9 p.m.