Brandon Routh returns as Superman for Crisis on Infinite Earths Arrowverse crossover

To handle something called a Crisis on Infinite Earths, the architects of the Arrowverse are bringing in not one, but two Supermen for the upcoming crossover event.

Brandon Routh, who starred as DC’s Man of Steel in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns film in 2006, will again don the crimson cape as the iconic character in Crisis on Infinity Earths, EW has learned. Now, Routh already stars on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as Ray Palmer/The Atom, so how will this work, especially when Tyler Hoechlin plays Superman in the Arrowverse on The CW?

Here’s how… Both Routh and Hoechlin will play two versions of Superman, each from a different time frame.

“Honored, humbled, grateful, and still pinching myself,” Routh tweeted of his big reveal.

Deadline was the first to report the news.

Crisis on Infinite Earths, based on the DC Comics universe-changing storyline of the same name, will play out across Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and the upcoming Batwoman series (starring Ruby Rose in the title role). The five-hour event will air over two months: three episodes in December and two in January 2020.

The Flash executive producer Eric Wallace told EW of the show’s forthcoming October premiere, “We found really unique ways to make the season fresh that we never expected, thanks to Crisis. This season is really divided up in a way that the episodes before the crossover are pre-Crisis episodes. Then the back half of the season is all about dealing with the fallout from the events of Crisis.”

The Flash, Supergirl, Arrow, and Batwoman will air this fall on The CW.

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• The Flash star Grant Gustin previews how ‘Crisis’ will affect season 6

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• See exclusive portraits of the Arrowverse stars from EW’s cover shoot