Although the cast of “Crisis On Infinite Earths” almost seems too expansive to accommodate, Arrowverse EP Marc Guggenheim has teased that the crossover will feature even more appearances than the vast assortment already announced, but one of them won’t be Smallville’s incarnation of Aquaman.
Alan Ritchson’s first acting role was appearing as the young Superman chronicle’s version of Arthur Curry in a handful of episodes across the series’ latter half, where the character acted as a brief love interest for Lois Lane and played a role in unseen exploits that formed the nascent development of the Justice League, with his final appearance seeing him return accompanied by future wife Mera.
In an interview with Collider mostly covering his current DC work as Hank Hall/Hawk in Titans, Ritchson revealed that he was offered the chance to appear in the Arrowverse crossover and would have liked to have been a part of it, but accommodating his being able to do so ultimately proved too complicated.
“They did reach out to me. We tried to work it out. We were shooting and it was a very difficult schedule for us. We were shooting three episodes at once all the time. I would have had to leave the country and come back in to get a permit specifically for that show. I did want to participate. We tried to work it out. I’m happy that everybody is getting to come back. I’m especially happy for the fans. That’s why we do this. Those shows are like a bonanza for the fans. I wish I could have been a part of it.”
Ritchson isn’t the only one who’s turned down the chance to reprise a DC role alongside a plethora of comics stablemates. Michael Rosenbaum, who played arguably the definitive live action Lex Luthor in Smallville, was contacted at a personally bad moment and given no details or time to think it over, forcing him to decline. Also, Cameron Cuffe, who played Superman’s grandfather Seg-El on the sadly cancelled Krypton, was unable to accept a role due to scheduling conflicts.
Despite the few who were unable to appear, the cast of “Crisis On Infinite Earths” is large enough that it certainly won’t feel like anyone’s missing, consisting as it does of the entire current rosters of the Arrowverse shows and some of their past characters, as well as guest appearances from the likes of Stargirl, Huntress, Jim Corrigan and Jonah Hex. How everyone will fit into proceedings remains to be seen, but at least we don’t have too long to wait to find out.
