Brandon Routh Says His Legends of Tomorrow Exit "Was Not Handled Well"

Just yesterday, we here at ComicBook.com were saying that we weren't especially happy to see Brandon Routh leave DC's Legends of Tomorrow. The actor, who had been with the series since the pilot, will depart the series (along with his wife Courtney Ford, who plays Nora Darhk) later this month -- and now Routh is publicly questioning how well the transition was handled, suggesting that his exit from the fan-favorite series was not handled particularly well. Routh spoke frankly about the end of Ray Palmer's journey during an interview with Inside Of You, the long-form interview podcast from Smallville actor Michael Rosenbaum.

The comments came in the context of a broader conversation about anxiety and mental health, with Routh struggling to communicate his broader philosophy. Ultimately, he decided to share some of his thoughts on the end of his time with Legends as an example.

"What I try to do at work is go to work, and try to enjoy my time on set," Routh told Rosenbaum. "You don't know what the end product is going to be. And I had to go into this — you're also talking about loss, so we're going back to that -- loss of my family for the last five years, and the character that I played for six years. As you may or may not know, I filmed my last episodes in the Arrowverse and as Ray Palmer, and that was a very traumatic event for me. It was not something I was expecting, it was shocking."

Asked whether the news had been sprung on him in the midst of filming, Routh said it wasn't that bad, but that it still wasn't an ideal situation.

"It was before we started production, but it was not well handled, and so that has been something my wife and I are both still working through," Routh said. "It's been a huge transition time for us these last 8, 9, 10 months. So going, how was I going to find the joy in that, knowing this thing was looming. But I worked to just be with the crew that had become my family and my cast that had become my family and experience that, and just be there in the interactions with the people."

Routh's final episode of Legends is likely next week's "Mr. Parker's Cul de Sac," in which production stills show him marrying Nora Darhk, with her father Damien (killed in the season 3 finale of Legends of Tomorrow but likely released from Hell by Astra Logue) in attendance.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, following episodes of The Flash.