Will ‘This Is Us’ Star Justin Hartley Join Arrowverse Crossover With ‘Smallville’ Cast?

Justin Hartley makes America cry each week on “This Is Us,” but before he was Kevin Pearson, he was Oliver Queen. The actor played the Green Arrow on “Smallville,” and his co-stars Tom Welling and Erica Durance are reprising their roles for the annual Arrowverse Crossover, “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Will Hartley join them?

“I don’t know. I mean, that’s not really up to me. Yeah, we’ll see,” Hartley told International Business Times on the red carpet celebrating his digital October cover of DuJour in New York City on Tuesday.

“Crisis on Infinite Earths” is set to feature multiple versions of Superman, played by Brandon Routh, Tyler Hoechlin and Tom Welling. A second Green Arrow to join Stephen Amell’s emerald archer doesn’t seem all that far-fetched. Hartley emphasized that he would only return if the story were good.

“I always said that I would go back into that world and play that character if it was the right thing. I’m open to doing anything that makes sense, not just doing it for the sake of doing it,” Hartley told IBT. “But they’ve been doing such a great job over there, I don’t think they would do that. I think if it made sense they would entertain it, and if it doesn’t and it’s not in the cards, then it’s not in the cards.”

Hartley played the Green Arrow on “Smallville” from 2006-2011, and he’s ready to get back into a super suit. He told DuJour that he wants to play another comic book character now that he’s a decade older.

“I had a run as a superhero, and I am kind of dying to do that again, because that was a long time ago, and I wasn’t really a man,” he told the magazine. “I’ve had so many life experiences since then that I think I could bring a whole other level to that.”

When IBT asked if he had any character in mind, Hartley declined to give a specific example. However, he revealed that it’s actually the realistic elements that he loves about comic book heroes.

“They’re all so interesting when you get to the fabric of them and you see what the backstory is behind all these characters,” Hartley explained. “They’re all kind of grounded in reality and they deal with things that we—and everyone who walks among us—deals with. There are a lot of interesting things about these characters, so I’m open to anything.”

For now, though, Hartley is keeping busy. The 42-year-old will be on the big screen in October in the comedy “Jexi,” and of course, he’ll continue to star in “This Is Us,” which returned for Season 4 on Tuesday. Though he wants to expand and play a superhero, it sounds like he’s pretty happy playing Kevin on the NBC drama.

“Every time I get a script I’m excited,” he said. “These writers are phenomenal. It’s like every single time you get a script you’re flipping through, you’re like, ‘I cannot believe that they did it again.’ It’s one after the other after the other. They’re so talented.”

“This Is Us” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on NBC. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will premiere in December on The CW.