Two actors who have played Superman -- One Life to Live's Brandon Routh (ex-Seth Anderson) and Tyler Hoechlin -- will once again be donning the character's iconic cape for a new CW crossover titled Crisis on Infinite Earths.
The new series will have both Routh, who played the Man of Steel in the 2006 Bryan Singer-directed feature Superman Returns and who currently plays Ray Palmer/The Atom on DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Hoechlin, who currently recurs as Superman on Supergirl, appear as the famous comic book character otherwise known as Clark Kent. Rumor has it, they will be playing Superman in different time periods.
According to Deadline, Crisis on Infinite Earths will also unite the entire Arrowverse series franchise -- Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman -- in the five-episode epic set to begin this December.
Routh spoke with EW about receiving a second opportunity to play Superman, which he says he views as a second chance to do something he didn't do before.
"It's an opportunity for me to kind of say hello and goodbye to the character in a way I didn't get to the first time," he explains in the video below. "Being a young individual of 24, 25, I thought, 'Oh, I'm going to do this for years and make multiple movies.' And that, of course, didn't happen. I'm just very honored to be able to do this one last time."
Routh joined the cast of OLTL in May 2001 but was recast shortly after, in April of 2002, with Steve Richard Harris stepping into the role. At the time, Routh admitted that he was somewhat glad that the ABC soap opera let him go.
"I am not truly saddened by this turn of events...in fact, I am quite relieved. I have gained much and will now move on," Routh stated, adding that he questioned the terms of his release. "I am saddened, however, by the lack of respect and humanity expressed by those in control of the show. Instead of being open and honest with me, they were conniving and malicious. They actually had me come in to work for four hours...then called me up to tell me they were releasing me!"
Routh's year on OLTL was followed by roles on Chuck, Partners, Chosen, Vixen, The Flash, Arrow, and DC Legends of Tomorrow.
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