The CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover brought together the Arrowverse's characters and a long list of surprise guest stars. Smallville alums Tom Welling and Erica Durance were among them, but Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor was sadly nowhere to be seen.
Way back in 2019, Rosenbaum explained his absence from the event when he revealed, "[Warner Bros.] called my agents Friday afternoon...Their offer: No Script. No idea what I’m doing. No idea when I’m shooting. Basically no money. And the real kick in the ass 'We have to know now.' My simple answer was 'Pass.'"
Now, Arrowverse executive producer Marc Guggenheim has shed new light on what the event's creative team had planned for Rosenbaum's Lex.
"By the time we’d engaged with Michael about appearing in Crisis - thanks in huge part to Stephen Amell's efforts - we’d already shot the Smallville reunion scene in Hour 2," he admits on his blog. "Nevertheless, I was eager to get Michael's Lex into the story if I could, so my brain started working on options that could be fit into the episodes that we were still shooting."
"I forget the story impetus for them, but I noodled with a version where Michael’s Lex would interact with Jon Cryer’s Lex, which I think would’ve been quite entertaining had it come to pass," Guggenheim added.
In the same Q&A, a fan put it to the prolific writer and producer that Crisis could have easily featured a cameo appearance from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman stars Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.
"I know we’d discussed bringing Teri back to reprise her role as Lois," he recalled. "I forget, however, why this never went anywhere but, you’re probably right, it was likely lack of money on our part."
It seems money also closed the door on us seeing Helen Slater as Supergirl. "I think it was just a matter of us picking our spots and there was certainly a desire to bring back actors who hadn’t been seen on an Arrowverse show previously," Guggenheim revealed before explaining why Durance's Lois didn't have a larger role in Crisis.
"Oh, there was absolutely a temptation for sure," he says. "As with most things, however, we were subject to the limit of a combination of screentime, story requirements, money, shooting schedule, and the actors’ personal schedules."
These restrictions aren't hugely surprising as the Arrowverse's biggest challenge was often huge ambitions on a low budget. Still, while these cameos didn't happen, fans did get to see the likes of Burt Ward, Kevin Conroy, Ashley Scott, and Ezra Miller.
Were you happy with how Crisis on Infinite Earths turned out? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below.