While the majority of Brandon Routh’s time in the Arrowverse was spent playing Ray Palmer, a.k.a. The Atom, in late 2019 and early 2020, the actor was given the opportunity to reprise Superman, the role that made him famous worldwide. The five-part Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover on The CW picked up with this version of the Man of Steel many years after the events of Superman Returns, and he was still keeping Earth-96 safe following the recreation of the multiverse. Now one of the Arrowverse’s creators has shared that he’s been talking about bringing Routh’s Superman back for an upcoming DC TV show, and I’m really hoping this happens.
Over on his X (formerly known as Twitter), Marc Guggenheim, who created Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, chimed in after he was tagged on a thread heaping praise upon Brandon Routh’s Kingdom Come-inspired Superman suit from Crisis on Infinite Earths. When one of the fans mentioned how they wish Routh could have led a 12-episode TV adaptation of All-Star Superman, Guggenheim mentioned:
Brandon and I have talked about a sequel series. We have some really exciting ideas...
It’s been a little over four years since Crisis on Infinite Earths finished airing, but Guggenheim and Routh are still keen on the latter’s Superman flying across the small screen again and have been formulating a way to bring him back. To be clear, this doesn’t mean such a series is happening, although though since Superman & Lois is ending with Season 4, this could easily fill the void it’s leaving behind. Other live-action Superman TV shows that have aired over the decades include The Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Smallville, with Tom Welling, the star of that latter show, having also reprised his Kal-El/Clark Kent in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
When we reunited with Brandon Routh’s Superman in the crossover, it was revealed that his Earth’s Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and other friends were killed when a “reject from Gotham” gassed The Daily Planet building. Despite suffering such loss, this Superman continued to fight for what’s right, and the black background of his S crest was meant to represent how “hope cut through” even in the darkest times. However, after Earth-96 and the rest of the multiverse was restored, this Superman went back to wearing a yellow background on his crest, implying that in this new version of reality, his loved ones are still alive.
As great as the prospect of this series that Marc Guggenheim and Brandon Routh have been talking about sounds, the one obstacle that might prevent it from ever seeing the light of day is the fact that there are various other live-action Superman projects in development. Superman: Legacy is slated for July 2025 and is considered the “true beginning” of the DC Universe’s Chapter One slate; Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Superman movie, which would star a Black lead, is still in development as an Elseworlds project; and in 2021, it was reported that Michael B. Jordan was developing a series focused on the Val-Zod version of Superman for Max. That’s a pretty crowded playing field, but even so, I do sincerely hope that Routh does get to play Superman again someday, whether it’s in this proposed series or somewhere else.
If you’d like to revisit Brandon Routh’s previous Superman outings, Superman Returns can be viewed with a Max subscription. You’ll need both that and a Netflix subscription to stream all five parts of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
