Crisis on Infinite Earths to Bring Back Brandon Routh's Superman

Brandon Routh, star of Superman Returns and DC's Legends of Tomorrow, will reprise his role as Superman in The CW's upcoming "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event, producers announced today at Comic Con International in San Diego. This will be Routh's first time in a Superman costume since Bryan Singer's 2006 movie, in which he starred as Superman opposite Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor. In a twist of fate, last year Bosworth appeared in a post-apocalyptic thriller called The Domestics alongside current Arrowverse Superman Tyler Hoechlin.

Superman Returns turned a modest profit at the box office, but was not successful enough to overcome a lukewarm reception from fans and critics. The movie, set in the same universe as Christopher Reeve's Superman: The Movie, brought Superman back to Earth after a long time in a self-imposed exile in space. Among the things he would learn? He had a super-powered son fathered during a night with Lois Lane before he left Earth.

There is no indication in the Deadline report that broke this story whether or not Routh's Man of Steel will be the same one from the Donner universe, or whether there will be any acknowledgment of that aspect of his history.

This is not the first time Routh's time as Superman has been referenced in the Arrowverse. During the "Invasion!" crossover, in which the heroes of the Arrowverse's Earth-1 met Supergirl for the first time, Routh's Ray Palmer joked that the Girl of Steel looked a little bit like his cousin, helping to give fans who already hoped to one day see an acknowledgment of Routh's time in the cape even more reason to cheer it on.

"Crisis on Infinite Earths" will air in December and January on The CW. The storyline will pay off plot threads seeded since the first episode of The Flash and play heavily into the final episodes of Arrow, setting up a new status quo for the post-"Crisis" Arrowverse. Taking place in five episodes over two quarters, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" will bring together the characters from Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow in their biggest and craziest story yet.