51 actors who have played the same superhero in different movies and TV shows
JoJo Whilden/Sony Pictures
The number of superhero movies has inflated rapidly in the past two decades.
Multiple actors have played the same Marvel and DC characters in prequels, reboots, and after re-casts.
Here are 50 examples of that overlap.
Superheroes have always captured our imaginations, but in the past two decades, their stories are being told onscreen in unprecedented numbers.
Thanks to the superhero movie renaissance, multiple actors have been cast as the same Marvel and DC characters in a variety of movies, including prequels and reboots. Various TV networks have also gotten in on the fun, particularly The CW's "Arrowverse."
Here are 50 notable examples of that overlap.
Michael Keaton played Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992).
Warner Bros.
Keaton refused to return for a third Batman film because it "wasn't any good."
"[The film] just wasn't any good, man," he told The Guardian. "I tried to be patient, but after a certain point, I was like, 'I can't take this any more, this is going to be horrible.'"
"But, look," he continued, "there was some really horrible taste in the '90s, and I probably contributed to that, unfortunately."
Val Kilmer played the caped crusader in "Batman Forever" (1995).
Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
"Batman Forever" was the final film in Tim Burton's trilogy, even though it was helmed by a different director and Kilmer replaced Keaton as the titular hero.
George Clooney became Batman for the 1997 film "Batman & Robin."
Mirek Towski/The LIFE Picture Collection/Warner Bros. Pictures/Getty Images
He's since admitted that he "screwed it up" and even advised Ben Affleck not to take the role.
"I wasn't good in it and it wasn't a good film," he said on The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" Podcast.
Christian Bale played Batman in the "Dark Knight" trilogy.
Warner Bros.
Bale launched his turn as Bruce Wayne with "Batman Begins" in 2005. He reprised the role for "The Dark Knight" in 2008 and "The Dark Knight Rises" in 2012.
Most recently, Ben Affleck played Batman in "Batman v Superman" (2016) and "Justice League" (2017).
JB Lacroix/ WireImage / Warner Bros.
In early 2019, Affleck told Jimmy Kimmel that he planned to officially hang up his cape.
"I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, but just couldn't come up with a version, I couldn't crack it," Affleck said. "So I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it. They got some really good people, so I'm excited."
Robert Pattinson has been confirmed as the next Batman on the big screen.
Antony Jones/Getty Images
Warner Bros. confirmed that Pattinson will star in a new Batman series, helmed by director Matt Reeves and expected to hit theaters in 2021.
Lynda Carter famously portrayed Wonder Woman on the '70s TV series.
Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images
Carter, who was crowned Miss World United States in 1972, saw her acting career (and cultural impact) skyrocket when she was cast as the titular hero on ABC's "Wonder Woman." The show moved to CBS for its second and third seasons, rechristened "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman."
"'Oh, women are gonna be so jealous of you,'" Carter said a CBS producer warned her. "Well, I said, 'Not a chance. They won't be, because I'm not playing her that way. I want women to want to be me, or be my best friend!'"
Carter later made a cameo in the 2005 film "Sky High" as the principal of a high school for superheroes: "I'm not Wonder Woman, you know," she quipped.
Adrianne Palicki wore the costume for a short time for a 2011 NBC pilot.
Warner Bros. TV
Palicki made a name for herself on the cult-favorite TV show "Friday Night Lights."
She scored the coveted Wonder Woman role on NBC's pilot, which was being produced by David E Kelley, the man behind shows such as "Boston Legal" and "Ally McBeal." Ultimately, NBC decided not to order the pilot to series.
"I was devastated when the pilot didn't go," Palicki told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. "But I also look at it, like, I got paid to wear that costume. And that is one of the coolest moments of my life running down Hollywood Boulevard. Like, that was so cool. And I was — how lucky am I."
Gal Gadot began playing Wonder Woman on the big screen in 2016, and is set to return in 2020.
Warner Bros.
Gadot made her onscreen debut as Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, in 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." She reprised the role in 2017 for "Justice League" and her own solo film, which was widely praised by critics and audiences alike.
Gadot has wrapped filming on her solo sequel, titled "Wonder Woman: 1984," which is slated for a 2020 release.
Eric Bana starred in the 2003 film "Hulk."
SGranitz/WireImage / Universal Pictures
"I'm fascinated by the people who hated that movie and feel compelled to watch it again, which always blows my mind," Bana told HuffPost in 2013. "But, yeah, it is what it is and I certainly don't regret doing it."
He also said he considers himself "so lucky" that the film wasn't given a sequel.
Edward Norton launched Bruce Banner's story in the MCU with "The Incredible Hulk" (2008).
Universal Pictures
"The Incredible Hulk," directed by Louis Leterrier, told the hero's origin story. Norton was set to reprise his role in subsequent MCU movies. But just before filming "The Avengers," Marvel released a statement about dismissing Norton because they were looking for "an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members."
After his role was recast, Norton claimed that he had "wanted a better script."
Mark Ruffalo replaced Norton as the Hulk in "The Avengers" (2012) and continued the role until "Endgame" (2019).
Walt Disney Studios
While Ruffalo never starred in another solo Hulk film — and likely never will — he portrayed Bruce Banner and his green alter-ego in "The Avengers" (2012), "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015), "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017), "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018), and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019).
When he was cast in the role, Ruffalo told IGN that he was worried about "bringing some spark of originality and spontaneity to that character."
But after a slew of successful outings, on the verge of "Endgame's" release, Ruffalo praised the actors who came before him for building Hulk's story.
"Now I think it's about a kind of a maturity that comes to the character," Ruffalo told Entertainment Weekly. "'Okay, it is what it is, so how do I live next to this in a way that I can still have a life? Maybe this monster is equally a part of me, and I can never really get rid of it.'"
Tobey Maguire played Peter Parker in the '00s "Spider-Man" trilogy.
Columbia Pictures/"Spider-Man 2"
Maguire was cast in the coveted role for the Sam Raimi-directed trilogy: "Spider-Man" (2002), "Spider-Man 2" (2004), and "Spider-Man 3" (2007).
"I know that some people think I'm not exciting enough or volatile enough for this kind of role, but I think that kind of criticism is absolutely off-base," Maguire told Cinema.com before the first film was released.
"Peter Parker is not a typical action hero," he continued. "He's probably the most down-to-earth, most carefully drawn, and least plastic of comic book figures. For me, it's a role that I knew that I could pull off without disappointing people. And once people see the movie, I think they'll come to the same conclusion. "
Andrew Garfield starred in "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2012 and its sequel in 2014.
Sony Pictures
When Sony 's emails were hacked in 2015, fans learned that Garfield was "let go" as Spider-Man after the underwhelming reception of his two films — largely because he didn't show up to the event where "The Amazing Spider-Man 3" was set to be announced.
Garfield told The Guardian in 2016 that taking on the role of Spider-Man was "exquisite and terrifying and incredible," but he was "naive to the whole process of making one of those big-budget films."
Tom Holland was cast as the MCU's Spider-Man in 2015.
Chuck Zlotnick/Sony Pictures Entertainment
After "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" under-performed at the box office, Sony (which owns the rights to Spider-Man) and Disney (which owns the rights to The Avengers) made a deal to bring Peter Parker into the MCU.
Holland was announced as the hero's newest incarnation shortly after. He made his debut in "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) and reprised the role in "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018), "Avengers: Endgame" (2019), and two solo movies: "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019).
Stan Lee has said that Holland is exactly what he envisioned when he wrote the character.
Nicholas Hammond played Peter Parker on the CBS show "The Amazing Spider-Man" from 1977 to 1979.
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
"The Amazing Spider-Man" was the hero's first live-action onscreen appearance. CBS canceled the show after just 13 episodes.
The character's famous co-creator, Marvel behemoth Stan Lee, once said he was "very unhappy" with the adaptation.
"With 'Spider-Man,' I felt the people who did the live-action series left out the very elements that made the comic book popular," he said. "They left out the humor. They left out the human interest and personality and playing up characterizations and personal problems."
Aaron Taylor-Johnson played Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015).
Disney/Marvel
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" introduced Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, aka Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, into the MCU.
In the comics, the Maximoff twins are the mutant children of X-Men villain Magneto. But because 20th Century Fox owned the "X-Men" movie rights, Disney couldn't use that backstory in "Age of Ultron."
Instead, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch got their powers from the Mind Stone: super-speed and telekinesis, respectively. But while Scarlet Witch went on to play a major role in the MCU, her twin brother was killed in his first film.
Evan Peters was introduced as Quicksilver in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).
20th Century Fox/YouTube
Evan Peters' young, rambunctious version of Quicksilver became an instant fan favorite in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014). He reprised his role as the super-speedy mutant in "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016) and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (2019).
Read more: Why Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are allowed to appear in both the 'X-Men' and 'Avengers' movies
Peters told Collider that he was "bummed" when Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver died in "Age of Ultron."
Famke Janssen played Jean Grey, aka Phoenix, in the '00s "X-Men" trilogy.
20th Century Fox
Janssen took on the role of Jean Grey for the first "X-Men" film in 2000. She reprised her role in 2003's "X2" and transformed into Pheonix for "X-Men: The Last Stand" in 2006.
"I never knew — I don't think any of us had any understanding of how popular our first movie was going to be and that it was gonna live on for 15 plus years," she said at Comic Con after the final film's release. "I think we're done, but it was really great while it lasted and it lasted for a long time."
Sophie Turner was introduced as Jean Grey in "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016) and starred in "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (2019).
20th Century Fox
Turner has said that playing Sansa Stark on HBO's "Game of Thrones" helped her land the role in the newer "X-Men" series.
"I think Famke played Jean incredibly well, but also, I'm playing a younger version of her," Turner told IGN in 2015. "I want to emulate Famke in a sense, because she has to seem like the Jean in the first two movies, but I'm also going to put my own twist on her. I think I'm also going to take inspiration from the comics."
Read more: Why the latest 'X-Men' movie, 'Dark Phoenix,' was doomed from the start
Patrick Stewart played Professor X in seven feature films, beginning with "X-Men" in 2000.
20th Century Fox
After "Star Trek," Stewart was initially reluctant about starring in another franchise, but says director Bryan Singer persuaded him. He announced he would retire from the "X-Men" universe after starring in 2017's "Logan."
"I realized there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying 'au revoir' to Charles Xavier than this movie," he told the A.V. Club. "So, I told [Hugh Jackman] that same evening, 'I'm done too. It's all over.'"
James McAvoy took on the role of Professor X for "X-Men: First Class" in 2011.
20th Century Fox
McAvoy signed on to play the telepathic superhero for the 2011 prequel.
"You have set it in a completely different time and you are also taking these people to a much earlier point in their personal development as well as their physical and super development," he told IGN at the time. "What's fun is you get to figure out who were they in the other films."
"For me, Charles Xavier is a monk," he continued. "He's like a selfless, ego-less almost sexless force for the betterment of humanity and mortality. And getting to kind of go, 'Alright, well he's got to be different from that.' It's quite fun because the complete opposite of that is an ego-fueled, sexed up self-serving dude. And not going too far with it, but he's definitely got an ego and he's definitely got a sex drive as well."
McAvoy reprised the role in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014), "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016), and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (2019).
Rebecca Romijn originally played Mystique.
Scott Barbour/Getty Images / 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images
Romijn was introduced as Raven Darkhölme, aka Mystique, aka Magneto's loyal second-in-command, in "X-Men" (2000). She was featured in the role throughout the trilogy.
Romijn told Digital Spy in 2014 that she would "absolutely" be interested in returning to the franchise.
Jennifer Lawrence portrayed Mystique in four "X-Men" movies.
Murray Close/Getty Images
Lawrence was introduced as the mutant in "X-Men: First Class" (2011). She went on to reprise the role in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014) and "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016). At that point, her contract had expired and she nearly declined to return for "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (2019).
"I love these movies — it's just the paint," Lawrence told EW on the set of "Apocalypse" in 2015.
Lawrence, who was 20 years old when she starred in "First Class," said she "didn't care about fumes and toxins" at first.
"Now I'm almost 25 and I'm like, 'I can't even pronounce this and that's going in my nose? I'm breathing that?'" she said.
When Simon Kinberg signed on to write and produce "Dark Phoenix," Lawrence said she couldn't turn her friend down.
James Marsden played Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, in the original "X-Men" trilogy.
20th Century Fox
Marsden recently said he'd be "down" to reprise the role, now that the X-Men can be introduced into the MCU.
"I think that world, there just are no rules," he recently told ComicBook.com. "You can do whatever you want. If there's some iteration down the line where we're involved... that's been a special thing to be a part of for a good period of my life and I love those fans and I love playing that character, so yeah, I'd be totally open to that."
Tye Sheridan was introduced as Cyclops in "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016).
20th Century Fox
Sheridan's Cyclops takes on a leadership role in "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (2019).
It's really exciting," Sheridan said during WonderCon. "I think he grows a lot over the course of this film and becomes much more of a leader of the X-Men. It's fun to play the progression and explore that."
Kelsey Grammer played Hank McCoy, aka Beast, in "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006).
20th Century Fox
Although Beast is an founding member of the X-Men in the comics, he only appeared in the final film of the original "X-Men" trilogy.
"Beast was a riot, I think he was underused," Grammer told ComicBook.com in 2017. "I believe that they should have done another Beast movie, you know with my Beast."
Nicholas Hoult portrayed Beast in four "X-Men" movies, starting with "X-Men: First Class" in 2011.
20th Century Fox
"The 'X-Men' crowd really grew up together. It's been a good eight, nine years making those movies," Hoult told Evening Standard in January, ahead of the release of "Dark Phoenix."
"The really beautiful thing about this last film," he continued, "is that [writer and director] Kim Berger has given me somewhere nice and new to experiment and go with the character. Which is cool."
Halle Berry played Storm in all three original "X-Men" movies in 2000, 2003, and 2006.
20th Century Fox
Berry portrayed the powerful, weather-controlling mutant in the original "X-Men" trilogy. She even appeared for a small cameo role in "Days of Future Past" (2014).
Alexandra Shipp played Storm in "Apocalypse" (2016) and "Dark Phoenix" (2019).
20th Century Fox/YouTube
Shipp said she "definitely cried" on the last day of shooting "Dark Phoenix."
"It didn't feel like an end to an era, though," she told TheWrap, "because Disney hadn't purchased Fox at the time so it was just like summer camp was ending, and it was one of those feelings, like, 'I'll miss you guys!' We definitely felt it at the premiere though, like, 'Yeah, this is the end.' It's bittersweet."
Read more:14 major movie franchises that Disney will own after buying Fox, from 'Alien' to 'X-Men'
Ioan Gruffudd played Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, in "Fantastic Four" (2005) and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007).
20th Century Fox
"He's a scientist, but also a bit of a dork or geek. He's completely blind to the fact that Sue Storm is in love with him. And he certainly becomes their leader towards the end, and I hope I represent that well," Gruffudd told ComicBookMovie.com ahead of the first film's release.
Miles Teller played Mr. Fantastic in the 2015 reboot.
20th Century Fox
Despite the film's negative reception and disappointing performance at the box office, Teller said he'd be open to filming a sequel.
"I loved the cast, I loved the characters. I think it's such an interesting dynamic. I love how much they really need to rely on each other," he told JoBlo.
"Obviously you learn more as you go on," he continued. "But I wouldn't change anything. I can honestly say I've never just done something for money; I'd be really embarrassed for something like that to come out, that I had no attachment to the character, no attachment to the script. It takes a while before you're only working with the best directors, nobody's career is flawless."
Jessica Alba played Susan Storm, aka Invisible Woman, in the 2005 film and 2007 sequel.
20th Century Fox
Alba has been open about her negative experience filming "Rise of the Silver Surfer," and especially about working with director Tim Story.
"I wanted to stop acting," she said in 2012. "The director was like, 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica.' He was like, 'Don't do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in.'"
"And I'm like, 'But there's no connection to a human being,'" she continued. "And then it got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said, 'F--- it. I don't care about this business anymore.'"
Kate Mara played Invisible Woman in 2015's "Fantastic Four."
20th Century Fox
"Oh yeah, I would love to be a part of 'Fantastic Four' sequel, or whatever they may or may not have in store for us," Mara told IGN in 2016. "I know all of the guys feel the same way. We love working with each other."
Chris Evans played Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, in 2004's "Fantastic Four" and the 2007 sequel.
20th Century Fox
Evans initially wasn't considered for the role of Captain America in the MCU because he had already portrayed a Marvel superhero.
"We thought, 'OK, well, he's that character. Let's keep looking,'" Marvel president Kevin Feige told The Hollywood Reporter. "And as we [continued] not finding people, we went back to the initial lists. And that brought us back to Chris. And I thought, well, Patrick Stewart played Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier. Harrison Ford played Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Who cares?"
Michael B. Jordan played the Human Torch in the 2015 reboot.
Ben Rothstein/20th Century Fox
After the reboot was announced, Jordan addressed racist objections to his casting in an essay for EW.
"I can see everybody's perspective, and I know I can't ask the audience to forget 50 years of comic books," he wrote. "But the world is a little more diverse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961. Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, 'You're good. I'm OK with this,' who am I to go against that?"
Michael Chiklis originally portrayed Ben Grimm, aka the Thing.
Vera Anderson/WireImage / 20th Century Fox
Chiklis told the New York Times that playing the Thing was "a physical and psychological nightmare."
"Once they glued the suit on me, I couldn't get it off without help, no matter how hard I struggled," he said. "I had six people around me all day, to take me out of the suit, put an air conditioner in my head and feed me water. I couldn't eat real food, and I lived on protein drinks during the entire shoot. Going to the bathroom was horrendous."
However, the actor still teased his willingness to reprise the role after Disney acquired the rights to the Fantastic Four gang.
"Could it be clobberin time?" he wrote on Twitter, alongside a photo of the Thing punching the Hulk.
Jamie Bell played The Thing in 2015.
D Dipasupil/FilmMagic / 20th Century Fox
Bell admitted he and his co-stars were "bitterly disappointed" with the film.
"There were several things on that movie I was clearly not privy to because I'm just an actor and I just do my stuff on set," he told the Los Angeles Times.
"But with something like that, everything starts with the best of intentions," he continued. "A production begins with the idea to make something that's unique and original and with integrity. I think the film really strived towards those goals. I don't know what happened between the launch of the voyage and the arrival."
Christopher Reeve played Superman in four solo movies, from 1978 to 1987.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Reeve became Clark Kent after initially failing to impress the producers, who wanted to cast an A-lister like Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, or Paul Newman.
Reeve reportedly refused to wear a "muscle shirt" for his second audition and bulked up for the screen test. He made his onscreen debut in "Superman" (1978). He reprised the role in "Superman II" (1980), "Superman III" (1983), and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987).
"It was absolutely amazing," Reeve said of his first time seeing the original film. "It got a standing ovation at the end. And I'll never forget that moment when Superman flies for the first time at the Fortress of Solitude. That got tremendous applause, that Superman had finally taken off."
Brandon Routh played Superman in the 2006 film "Superman Returns."
SGranitz/WireImage / Warner Bros.
"Superman Returns" paid homage to the first two Superman films starring Reeves, while ignoring the second two films, which had more disappointing performances at the box office.
Warner Bros. originally intended to make a sequel to "Superman Returns," but canceled its plans after the film failed to break even on its production budget.
"Being a young individual of 24, 25, I thought, 'Oh, I'm going to do this for years and make multiple movies.' And that of course didn't happen," Routh recently told Entertainment Weekly at Cinema-Con.
Routh currently plays Ray Palmer, aka The Atom, on "DC's Legends of Tomorrow." He's expected to reprise his role as Superman on the CW's annual Arrowverse crossover event in December.
Henry Cavill became Superman when Warner Bros. rebooted the character for "Man of Steel" (2013).
Warner Bros.
"What I can say is that it's a modernization of the character and a very realistic view of one, obviously, very fantastic individual," Cavill told Cineplex before the "Man of Steel" premiere. "It's an unreal situation, but it's approached from a very practical viewpoint. We wanted to make the character easier to identify with."
Cavill reprised the role for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" in 2016 and "Justice League" in 2017. He reportedly told a fan at San Diego Comic-Con that he'd like to continue playing Superman for a "Man of Steel" sequel.
Tom Welling starred as Clark Kent on The CW's "Smallville."
The CW
"Smallville," which told the story of Clark Kent before he took on the identity of Superman, aired for 10 seasons from 2001 until 2011.
"That show is about a teenager trying to figure out who he is," Welling told EW after the series finale aired. "They felt that once Clark put on the cape and the suit, life became too easy, in a sense. They wanted to focus on who this character was before that."
Tyler Hoechlin currently recurs as Superman on The CW's "Supergirl."
CW
Although the network reportedly has no plans for Hoechlin's Superman to reappear on "Supergirl," he is scheduled to return on the CW's annual Arrowverse crossover event in December.
Read more: Tyler Hoechlin's TV version of Superman is the best Man of Steel we've had in decades
Helen Slater starred as the titular hero in the 1984 film "Supergirl."
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
"I don't like to say I regret anything, it's not my style, but I do quasi-regret that the script didn't connect as much, and that it didn't go on to be bigger," Slater told Den of Geek in 2010.
"I talked with comic book writers about this over the years, and even in my anthropology class — I'm working on a college degree right now — we talk about whether there's something about a Supergirl that isn't quite landing," she continued. "Why don't we see more than that? Did they fashion her too much on Superman, they didn't know how to make it more? I don't know the answer to it."
Melissa Benoist currently plays Kara Danvers on The CW's "Supergirl."
The CW
Since the series premiere in 2015, Benoist has worn a skirt and tights in the role. On the upcoming season, Supergirl will ditch her classic look for navy pants.
Benoist said during the panel that wearing pants felt like "the perfect evolution" for her character. She also elaborated in an interview with "Extra TV".
Read more:The CW's first official image of Supergirl wearing pants is out, and fans are praising the new look
"I've been thinking about it for a long time. Frankly, logistically, when we went to Vancouver, it was much colder than Los Angeles, so the skirt wasn't really practical," she said, referring to where the season was filmed. "But more than that, like, just the evolution of Kara — it just feels appropriate, like it's time."
The actress also said that the new suit has greater flexibility and called it "so comfortable" and "really empowering."
Jason Momoa played Aquaman in "Justice League" (2017) and the "Aquaman" solo film (2018).
Warner Bros.
Momoa's Aquaman — a grittier, more brooding version of the classically blonde-haired, blue-eyed hero — made his live-action theatrical debut in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016).
Despite mixed reviews of his solo outing, the actor says he was "passionate" about doing a sequel, which is currently slated for a 2022 release.
Read more: 9 details you probably didn't know about the making of 'Aquaman'
Alan Ritchson previously played Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, on multiple episodes of "Smallville."
The CW
Ritchson's "environmentally conscious surfer dude" version of the aquatic hero was introduced on season five, episode four of the CW's "Smallville." He reprised his role on seasons six, eight, and 10.
Justin Hartley played Arthur Curry in a pilot for the TV series, "Aquaman."
Warner Bros.
"Smallville" creators Al Gough and Miles Millar had big plans for an "Aquaman" TV series on The WB. The pilot, written by Gough and Millar, starred Hartley as a super-powered dive shop owner in Florida who finds out he's the lost Prince of Atlantis.
By the time the pilot was ready for a pickup, however, the WB didn't exist anymore. The network had merged with UPN and created the CW Network, which opted not to order the "Aquaman" pilot to series.
Hartley went on to play Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, on "Smallville."
The CW
"Everyone started to say 'Aquaman' was a sure thing, it was going to be a show. I just kept telling myself I got hired to do a pilot. Just do this pilot and see what happens," Hartley told MediaVillage.
"My work on 'Aquaman' is something that I'm really proud of, as far as the relationships that I developed with the creators of 'Aquaman' and also 'Smallville,' and the cast and the crew. People got to see my work ethic," he continued. "I think that translated into a role on 'Smallville,' which is great. That's what I was always told as a kid. 'Work hard. Work hard. Work hard.' It definitely does pay off."
Stephen Amell has played Oliver Queen on The CW's "Arrow" since 2012.
Robert Falconer/The CW
"Arrow" will come to an end this year after an eight-season run.
"Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life... but you can't be a vigilante forever," Amell wrote on Twitter.
Ezra Miller played The Flash in "Justice League" (2017) and is set to reprise the role for a solo movie.
Warner Bros.
A solo "Flash" movie starring Miller has faced some setbacks since it was announced five years ago — especially following the commercial and critical failure of "Justice League."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller himself has stepped in to help rewrite the script with a "darker take on the material."
Grant Gustin currently portrays Barry Allen on The CW's "Flash."
Diyah Pera/The CW
Gustin's version of the Scarlet Speedster is getting a stylish redesign and a new villain for the upcoming sixth season of "The Flash."
