Last week, comments from Arrowverse creator Marc Guggenheim went viral in which he seemed to suggest there had once been plans for a Kingdom Come-style TV series on The CW featuring Brandon Routh's Superman.
The Legends of Tomorrow star first played the Man of Steel in 2006's Superman Returns. However, thanks to the small screen Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, he was later given the chance to find redemption as that version of the iconic hero. Fans were left wanting more but was it ever really going to happen?
In a new blog post, the filmmaker addressed his remarks and offered some much-needed clarification about the supposed spin-off:
"One such follower asked if I had any promotional photos of [Brandon] Routh as Superman from the Crisis on Infinite Earths event that I showran. Thinking nothing of it, I posted what I had on my Dropbox and casually mentioned — because I thought it was a fun little nugget — that Brandon and I had talked about some kind of “sequel series” for his version of Superman.
"Well, that little comment kinda went viral. A friend of mine, a comic shop owner, texted me that suddenly his Facebook feed was nothing but articles about the comment — some of which exaggerated said comment into a 'possibility' (there is none that I can reasonably conceive of) or even 'talks' (which haven’t happened, unless you count Brandon’s and my little chats)."
"I share because it’s (a) an amusing anecdote that demonstrates how even the most innocuous of comments can, occasionally, go viral; and (b) a great example of how much love there still is for the Arrowverse. I don’t often write about the latter in this newsletter because I want it to be forward-facing as opposed to backwards-looking, but I really am humbled by and grateful for all the passion fans still have for our little endeavor"
You can read Guggenheim's comments in full here. While this Superman TV series wasn't ever actually in the works, he did share some never-before-seen concept art from Crisis showing Routh suited up as the iconic superhero.
Superman Returns was largely considered a disappointment when it was released, leaving the character on the shelf until 2013's divisive Man of Steel. The movie hurt Routh's career but, after a successful stint in the Arrowverse as Ray Palmer/The Atom, he got to put things right with this older Kal-El.
Would you have liked to see Routh star in his own Superman TV series?