Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum has turned down an offer to reprise his role as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Arrowverse crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths. The actor played the iconic villain on the Superman prequel series for seven seasons. Many fans consider his iteration of the character to be the defining one.
Crisis on Infinite Earths will be loosely based on the twelve-part 1985 comic series of the same name by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Much like the major repercussions this arc had on the DC Universe, this event is poised to massively shake up the Arrowverse. Rosenbaum has previously debunked rumors that he would be appearing in the crossover. However, his Smallville costar Tom Welling recently signed on to return to the part of Clark Kent. Soon after, Erica Durance had also joined the cast, reprising her role as Lois Lane. This once again raised the question of whether or not Rosenbaum would make this event a proper Smallville reunion by signing on as well.
Michael Rosenbaum took to Twitter to set the record straight. He explained that WB did contact his agents while he was at a nursing home visiting his grandfather. Apparently, there was no clear roadmap for what his character would be doing in terms of a script or even a vague idea, let alone when he would even need to be on set. With little money on the table and the need for an immediate answer, Rosenbaum declined their offer. Read his post below.
Crisis on Infinite Earths is set to unite the heroes of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. Despite being separate from the rest of the Arrowverse thus far, even Black Lightning is slated to appear. Welling and Durance won’t be the only Clark and Lois onboard, with Tyler Hoechlin once again suiting up as the Man of Steel and Elizabeth Tulloch returning as the intrepid reporter. There will be yet another Supes in action as well, with Legends of Tomorrow’s Brandon Routh once again stepping into the character’s red boots as Kingdom Come Superman.
Rosenbaum’s absence will be upsetting for those who’d begun to hope that he would join up alongside his fellow Smallville alum. Even still, it isn't difficult to understand why the actor would reject such a vague offer. Rosenbaum has made it clear that he's grateful for the outpouring of support from fans, but it’s easy to see why he wouldn’t want to jump at the opportunity to return for the Arrowverse crossover without knowing exactly what that would entail.
Source: Michael Rosenbaum