This year’s Arrowverse crossover event will be so massive it’ll apparently require the efforts of two Supermen to save the day. It’s been announced that not only is Tyler Hoechlin suiting up as the Man of Steel in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” but Brandon Routh will be returning to the iconic role he first played in 2006’s Superman Returns as well.
Routh has, of course, been an Arrowverse stalwart for years now, having portrayed Ray Palmer/the Atom first on Arrow and then as a regular for the past four (soon to be five) seasons of Legends of Tomorrow. Because of this, fans originally hoped he might suit up as The CW’s Superman on Supergirl. We ended up getting Tyler Hoechlin, though, who’s wowed viewers with his scattered guest appearances since 2016. Now, however, we’ll get the best of both worlds in “Crisis.”
Fans will probably assume that the multiversal mayhem that’ll come about in the crossover is what brings these two different versions of Supes together. However, Deadline’s exclusive report on the story suggests that the actors will actually be playing the same version of the character – the Earth-38 version – in, I quote, “different time frames.” Deadline also implies that the two won’t appear on screen together and will split the role across the miniseries event.
We were all hoping “Crisis” would deliver a lot of fan-pleasing cameos and crossovers, so the idea of Routh reprising Superman, however it happens, is certainly thrilling. What’s more, it also raises the question of what else they have up their sleeves. After all, if The CW is willing to drop this news at such an early stage, then there must be even cooler surprises in store, right? A Smallville crossover, for instance? Who knows, but the multiverse is their playground.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” will stretch across five episodes over both quarters and involve all five Arrowverse shows. Watch out for more news on the event this weekend at SDCC.
