Marc Guggenheim on The Ray’s Potential Arrowverse Return

During the critically-acclaimed “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover event, Arrowverse fans were introduced to a new hero, The Ray.

Played by Russell Tovey, Ray appeared in a couple of episodes of the event, but chose to stay and fight Nazi’s on Earth-X, despite boyfriend Leo Snart going back to Earth-1 with the Legends. This open-ended introduction has left many fans of the franchise wondering if The Ray could be appearing in one of the Arrowverse shows sometime in the future.

According to Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow EP Marc Guggenheim, the answer of Ray’s return in the franchise is more of an “If” than a “When.”

During an exclusive interview, we asked the producer if we’d ever have a chance to see The Ray again.

“Well, the Earth X-Ray, no. The Earth 1 Ray, who you met in the crossover, absolutely,” Guggenheim confirmed. “The only two things that we need to see The Ray in live action again are a great story and Russell’s availability. We get those two things and you’ll absolutely see him again. We certainly would hope to.”

That hope for Tovey’s return all hinges on his fate with another series. As of now, the actor has a main role on ABC’s Quantico, which is currently heading into its third season.

“The incredibly talented Mr. Tovey is busy as a series regular on Quantico at the moment,” Guggenheim explained. “So, I hate it when actors display an inability to be in two places at once.”

If there is an opportunity to get Tovey back on any of the Arrowverse shows, it sounds like the producers are going to take it. Guggenheim couldn’t hold back his praise for the actor, whom he said was the perfect choice for the role.

“I will say that working with Russell was just an absolute joy,” said Guggenheim. “He is a constant professional, the sweetest guy, incredibly talented. Once his name got floated by our casting expert extraordinaire, David Rappaport, none of us could picture anyone else in the role. So, we were really lucky that he said yes because once we got pregnant on the idea that he could play The Ray, anyone else would of been a real disappointment.”

Hopefully the schedules will get resolved, and The Ray will find himself back on The CW very soon. In the meantime, Tovey is voicing the character in the animated series Freedom Fighters: The Ray. The first six episodes of the The Ray are currently streaming on CW Seed.