It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no… it’s Brandon Routh? Could the actor who first took flight as the Man of Steel inSuperman Returns(2006) actually be suiting up to reprise the role again? Well, it might not be as that particular version of Clark Kent/Superman, butArrow’sco-creator, Marc Guggenheim, has teased discussions between himself and Routh about a “sequel series” featuringKingdom Come’sSuperman, who appeared in theArrowverse’s crossover event,Crisis on Infinite Earths. Guggenheim wrote on X, formerly Twitter,@mguggenheim:
Brandon and I have talked about a sequel series. We have some really exciting ideas…
In addition to the aforementioned revelation, Guggenheim responded approximately three hours later to a post by @Ollu45617507 on X, and he wrote: “Coolest thing we ever did.” The GIF featured Superman (Routh) flying above the Earth in the CW’s television crossover event,Crisis on Infinite Earths. Check out these posts in their entirety below:
The timing for a Routh-led Superman series on the CW couldn’t be more perfect, sinceSuperman & LoisSeason 4 will mark the final go-round for Tyler Hoechlin’s interpretation of the Man of Steel. While attending the Television Critics Association panel, CW’s President of Entertainment, Brad Schwartz, indicated thatSuperman & Lois’final season will likely drop this fall, but a release date isn’t set in stone at the time of this writing. Schwartz said (perDeadline):
I watched the first episode last night. It will make you cry.
Thy Kingdom Come, Superman
Brandon Routh’sfirst appearance as the Man of Steel inSuperman Returnsdidn’t really impress fans, as the film weirdly focused on an estranged love story between Clark Kent (Routh) and Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth). While the movie made $391 million at the worldwide box office,Superman Returns’B+ CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 61% clearly indicated that fans of the Last Son of Krypton weren’t happy with director Bryan Singer’s efforts.
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However, in 2019, Routh had the opportunity to portray the comic books’ version ofKingdom ComeSuperman in Season 1 ofBatwoman.During the CW’s crossover eventCrisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two, Clark Kent/Superman (Routh) had become the editor-in-chief of The Daily Planet. And in a world where the Joker murdered the ones he loves, including Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White, the Man of Steel somehow still managed to maintain his humanity rather than succumbing to the unimaginable heartbreak, which could have quelled his kindhearted nature. And prior to Ezra Miller’sThe Flashflopping at the box office, Routh revealed his interest in reprising the role yet again. Routh said in an interview withComicBook.com:
“Just like Marc Guggenheim did with Crisis on Infinite Earths, you can have multiple Supermen, and it works. That experiment is actively in process, and hasn’t been tested yet on the feature film side. But I think that’s what maybe they’re gearing up for. It’s hard to say what the next few years will bring. But where I used to say, ‘I didn’t think I’d ever play Superman again,’ having been able to play him again in Crisis [on Infinite Earths], now I say, ‘The sky’s the limit.’ Who knows?"
For those who haven’t had the opportunity to seeRouth’s original portrayal of the Man of Steel,Superman Returnsis streaming on Max, at the time of this writing. And check out a behind-the-scenes look at Routh’s return to the role of Superman during the CW’sCrisis on Infinite Earth’sstoryline below, courtesy of TV Promos:
