Just when we thought the cast list for “Crisis on Infinite Earths” couldn’t get any better, it’s been reported that Justin Hartley and Robert Wuhl are joining the Arrowverse event. Hartley will be reprising his role as Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow from Smallville, while, even more intriguingly, Wuhl will be returning as Alexander Knox from Tim Burton’s Batman. While we’re still waiting for official confirmation on this from The CW, our sources did previously let us know that Hartley was in talks to appear and now, it seems that our scoop has been confirmed.
For those not in the know, Hartley played the Green Arrow from season 6 of Smallville, teaming up with Tom Welling’s Clark Kent for a proto-Justice League. He was a regular on the show from seasons 8 to 10 as well, playing a key role in Clark’s journey towards becoming Superman. In terms of the Arrowverse, we received a glimpse of Hartley’s costume in the “Elseworlds” crossover, as part of the prologue scene on Earth-90.
Bringing him back certainly makes sense given the roles being played by Tom Welling and Erica Durance in “Crisis,” although the extent to which this version of the Green Arrow will factor into the storyline has yet to be revealed. We think it’d be great to see him pair up with Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow, though, who’ll also likely be appearing as different versions of Oliver Queen throughout the event.
Wuhl’s contribution, meanwhile, will probably be a small cameo, with his Alexander Knox character a reporter who gets tangled up with Bruce Wayne, Batman, Vicki Vale and the Joker. Knox should also tie into the brief appearance of a newspaper featuring Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne that we discussed earlier this week, although whether we’ll get to actually see Keaton is another question entirely. We’re also not holding out hope for an appearance by Jack Nicholson, but you never know.
In any case, this Hartley and Wuhl news only adds to the excitement over “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which begins on December 8th and concludes on January 14th. We’ll be keeping our ear to the ground for more casting surprises as well, so be sure to stay tuned for further updates.
