Smallville's Lex Luthor actor confirms why he will not be in Arrowverse crossover

The excitement surrounding Crisis on Infinite Earths has only increased following the news of Smallville's Tom Welling and Erica Durance joining the Arrowverse crossover – but one big name is missing.

One of the highlights of Smallville was Michael Rosenbaum's scene-stealing performances as Lex Luthor opposite Welling's Clark Kent.

The bad news is Rosenbaum won't be reprising the role for the crossover, and in an open message to his Twitter followers, he has explained why.

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"Friends, many of you have tweeted and asked me about joining the Infinite Crossover," he wrote. "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. Lovingly, Rosenbaum."

At least we have Clark and Lois, and the crossover will explore what happened to the Smallville versions of the characters after the show ended in 2011.

Crisis on Infinite Earths will bring together every Arrowverse series – Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman – for a massive five-episode story arc.

Crisis on Infinite Earths premieres on December 8 with the Supergirl episode, followed by Batwoman on December 9 and The Flash on December 10. Post-Christmas, the series will then conclude with Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow straight after on January 14.

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