Things are changing on board the Waverider next season, as Legends of Tomorrow is losing two of its regular cast members. Not only is Courtney Ford exiting as Nora Darhk, but Brandon Routh is also leaving behind his role as Ray Palmer/the Atom. This is massive news, as the former Superman star has been a part of The CW show since the very beginning, hopping over to the time travel-themed series after making his Arrowverse debut in Arrow season 3.
Naturally, then, this must be an emotional time for Routh, who’s written a heartfelt thank you to the cast and crew and his fans on Instagram in response to the news that he and real-life wife Ford are leaving Legends. He also admitted that he’s “saddened” by his upcoming exit as he felt that there was much more for Ray to do on the show.
“I love this character. I love bringing his wit and charm and silliness to life everyday on set. I will miss him immensely, and felt he had more adventures ahead, but unfortunately his storyline is pointed in another direction. I’m saddened to see Ray’s journey end for now”
If you’re getting the sense that it wasn’t Routh’s call to leave, then you’d be right. The original Deadline story on the news revealed that it was a “creative” choice on the part of the writers to end Ray and Nora’s time on the series. A peek at the actor’s Twitter feed also shows that he’s just as cut up about the news as the fans.
Not our decision. 😔
— Brandon Routh 🇺🇦 (@BrandonJRouth) August 23, 2019
The good news is that we’ve got a double helping of Routh in this year’s big crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” as the star teases in his Instagram post. He’ll be reprising his take on the Man of Steel for the first time since 2006’s Superman Returns. Specifically, he’ll be the Kingdom Come version of the character.
Legends of Tomorrow season 5, meanwhile, kicks off in early 2020.