A new DC superhero joins the Arrow-verse, but he's going to be played by a familiar face. Superman Returns' Brandon Routh will don the labcoat of scientist Ray Palmer, better known as the superhero called The Atom, for the show's upcoming third season.


Deadline has the announcement and an interesting detail:

He will play Ray Palmer, a scientist and inventor who will play an unexpected role in the lives of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak as the new owner of Queen Consolidated.


Hmm. New owner of Queen, huh? Cool. You know, not only is this good news in that Arrow's DC pantheon is continuing to expand, but because Brandon Routh is actually a really good actor. I even think he was great in Superman Returns! He did the job Bryan Singer asked him to (i.e. a modern version of Christopher Reeve's version of Superman) and he did it well — none of the problems the movie had were his fault, and yet Returns pretty much tanked his career. Hopefully a good season-long guest-starring role on Arrow can bring Routh back into Hollywood's good graces.