Why Michael Rosenbaum won’t play Lex Luthor for The CW’s Crisis crossover

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The CW is certainly pulling out all the stops for their highly-anticipated Crisis on Infinite Earths five-part TV event; not only will the crossover bring Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow together, but it will also be bringing back characters from across the DC Universe, including Tom Welling and Erica Durance as Smallville's Clark Kent and Lois Lane. "For eight years, Arrow has stood on the shoulders of Smallville. Simply put, there would be no Arrow, and no Arrowverse, without it," said ARROW co-creator/executive producer Marc Guggenheim. "So when we first started talking about Crisis on Infinite Earths, our first, second and third priorities were getting Tom to reprise his iconic role as Clark Kent. To say that we’re thrilled would be a Superman-sized understatement."

Following these announcements, it was assumed that Smallville's other major character, Lex Luthor, would be joining the mega-crossover as well, but Michael Rosenbaum took to Twitter to explain that although the studio had reached out, he would not be reprising the role.

"Friends, many of you have tweeted and asked me about joining the Infinite Crossover," Rosenbaum wrote in the Tweet. "I can’t tell you how much this means to me. I’ll just be straight up about this. WB called my agents Friday afternoon when I was in Florida visiting my grandfather in a nursing home. 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.’ I think you can understand why. I hope this answers all of your questions." Well, there you have it, unless something changes at the last minute, Crisis on Infinite Earths will have to make due without Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor. That said, there will be a version of Lex Luthor in the crossover, as Jon Cryer is expected to reprise the role he played during Supergirl's fourth season.

In addition to Tom Welling and Erica Durance, the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover will also feature Brandon Routh as the Kingdom Come version of Superman and Kevin Conroy as a future Bruce Wayne, as well as Black Lightning's Cress Williams, The Flash's John Wesley Shipp, and Batman's Burt Ward.