Former Superman Brandon Routh Joins Arrow as The Atom

He may have only been able to play Superman once, but Brandon Routh is coming back to the DC Universe in an unexpected way. The Superman Returns star will be joining Arrow in Season 3, playing the recurring role of Ray Palmer, AKA The Atom. TVLine broke the news on Routh’s casting, also revealing how we’ll meet Ray in Season 3 (minor spoilers follow):

An unparalleled scientist and inventor, Ray will play an unexpected role in the lives of Oliver and (rumored love interest) Felicity as the new owner of Queen Consolidated. Palmer’s plans for Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division will be shrouded in mystery.

As TVLine notes, while The Atom has appeared in several DC animated projects, Arrow will mark the first time the size-changing character will be seen in live-action.

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Brandon Routh in Superman Returns. This will actually be the third comic book-derived project for Routh (who had a recurring role on Enlisted this past season), following Superman Returns and Scott Pilgrim.