A bunch of superhero actors are returning for Arrowverse‘s 2019 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths. Last year’s Elseworlds crossover had been the shared universe’s most ambitious crossover yet, but once it was over, The CW announced plans to adapt DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths story for the small screen. While it’s certainly a challenging endeavor for the network, as well as the writers and producers, it seems they’re all up to the challenge.
One of the most iconic comic book crossover events in history, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s Crisis on Infinite Earths completely transformed DC Comics’ multiverse into one cohesive shared continuity, which ultimately became known as the DC Universe. And to make that happen, the limited comic series gathered all the superheroes and supervillains from various corners of the multiverse and put them together to destroy the Anti-Monitor – an incredibly powerful villain who was essentially the antimatter universe’s version of the Monitor.
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When it comes to the Arrowverse, there’s no shortage of superheroes who are ready to take on another cosmic-level threat, but for Crisis on Infinite Earths, the network has opted to give all the mainline heroes in the DC TV franchise even more help. And so, actors who’ve appeared in previous DC Comics movies and TV shows will once again reprise their roles, albeit with a few changes, in this year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.
Brandon Routh
Brandon Routh already plays Ray Palmer, aka Atom, on Legends of Tomorrow, and now he’ll reprise his role as Superman in Crisis on Infinite Earths. But he won’t be the only one; Tyler Hoechlin is also returning as Superman. However, it seems they’ll be portraying different versions of the Man of Steel. Instead of coming back as his character from Superman Returns, which released in 2006 and was meant to be a follow up to Christopher Reeve’s original films as well as exist in the same continuity, Routh is slated to appear in Crisis on Infinite Earths as the Kingdom Come Superman.
Created by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, DC’s Kingdom Come miniseries featured an aging Superman who had a much more somber outlook on the world, particularly after he lost Lois Lane. This version of Superman is immediately recognizable since, in addition to being older than the traditional superhero, he sports an altered “S” logo on his chest, which is painted on top of a black background. Routh portraying this specific Superman means that the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event will be the first time that Kingdom Come has been adapted – in any form – in live-action.
Kevin Conroy
Easily one of the most famous voice actors in recent history, Kevin Conroy is known for voicing Bruce Wayne/Batman in a number of properties, beginning with Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s. In addition to that, Conroy went on to voice Batman in several installments in the DC Animated Universe (even voicing the superhero in 2019’s Justice League vs. the Fatal Five), eventually diving into video games with Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham series in the 2010s. But while he’s enjoyed a long-lasting career as the de-facto voice of the Dark Knight, Conroy hasn’t appeared as Batman in live-action – until now.
Conroy is scheduled to play the Arrowverse’s Bruce Wayne in Crisis on Infinite Earths, though it doesn’t seem that he’ll don Batman’s suit. Given the age gap between Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane/Batwoman and Conroy, it’s unlikely that Conroy will be portraying Earth-1’s Bruce Wayne. It’s certainly possible that his version will come from another universe, where he’s already retired and potentially working with Terry McGinnis in a Batman Beyond type of set up, though that hasn’t been confirmed. All we know about his character so far is that he comes from the future, but a specific time period hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Burt Ward
While Burt Ward has relished in a long-lasting career in Hollywood – in both film and on television – he’s undoubtedly most well-known for playing Dick Grayson, aka Robin, in the 1960s Batman TV series. He even reprised his role in the Batman film as well as in multiple animated shows and movies, with the latest being 2016’s Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and 2017’s Batman vs. Two-Face. And now, he’s going to appear in Crisis on Infinite Earths. But while Brandon Routh and Kevin Conroy are playing versions of characters they’re already known for, it’s unclear who Ward is going to be.
At the moment, Ward isn’t supposed to be playing an older Robin, though that can certainly happen by the time Crisis on Infinite Earths debuts. Whoever he plays, the character will be associated with Batman and Gotham City in some way, seeing as he’s scheduled to make his appearance in the Batwoman episode of the Arrowverse crossover. Sadly, Adam West passed away in 2017; otherwise, he might’ve also been asked to star in Crisis on Infinite Earths. But perhaps that’s why Kevin Conroy is portraying the live-action Bruce Wayne in this crossover.
Arrowverse Actors Returning For Crisis On Infinite Earths
In addition to the main characters from Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow appearing in Crisis on Infinite Earths, there are several other people coming back as well. One of the biggest names is Tyler Hoechlin, who’s reprising his role as Superman, as previously mentioned, along with his on-screen wife, Elizabeth Tulloch, who made her debut as Lois Lane in last year’s Elseworlds crossover. Jon Cryer is also coming back as Supergirl‘s Lex Luthor.
Outside of Supergirl, Keiynan Lonsdale is returning as Kid-Flash in Crisis on Infinite Earths – after being absent from the franchise for some time – with Flash‘s Tom Cavanaugh, who’s played all sorts of versions of Harrison Wells, portraying yet another DC Comics character: Pariah. Perhaps the most interesting addition, though, is Black Lightning‘s Cress Williams. After years of discussion, Black Lightning will officially join the Arrowverse during 2019’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.
