Let’s talk about that hellish appearance!
Warning: Do not proceed if you have not watched Part 3 of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Major, major, major spoilers ahead.
The Devil made a surprise cameo during “Crisis on Infinite Earths” -- and it was a doozy.
During Part 3 of The CW’s five-part crossover event, which aired on Tuesday’s episode of The Flash, Lucifer Morningstar was the latest character from the DC Comics universe to make the leap into the Arrow-verse. So how did Lucifer make his debut?
With Diggle (David Ramsey), Mia (Katherine McNamara) and Constantine (Matt Ryan) desperate to get Oliver Queen’s (Stephen Amell) soul back into his body -- the Green Arrow was resurrected via the Lazarus pit in Monday’s second hour -- they take a detour to Earth-666 after Constantine reveals his connection to the ruler of Hell. Seeking a favor from Lucifer, pre-detective days, he grants the trio access to Hell, aka Lian Yu, so they can retrieve Oliver’s soul.
Lucifer’s “Crisis” visit comes more than a month after star Tom Ellis seemingly shut down any speculation that he would be making an appearance during the crossover. ET exclusively sat down with Ellis on the Los Angeles, California, set of his Netflix series recently, where he came clean about why he misled fans and kept it a secret -- until now.
“So yes, he is in the crossover. When I went to go and shoot the scene, we were talking on set beforehand -- myself and Matt Ryan -- and we were like, ‘This is so exciting. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could keep this a secret for the fans until they actually see it onscreen that night?’” Ellis explained to ET’s Katie Krause. “Of course, these days that's not that possible with social media at all. I think there were a few people hanging around the set who noticed that I was there and put stuff out that I was going to be in it, so I kind of was like, ‘I would still really like to surprise some people.’ So that is why.”
And no, Ellis didn’t fib about being up in Vancouver to attend a friend’s birthday bash. He just didn’t tell the whole story. “There was that as well,” he said. “I was actually genuinely there for my friend’s birthday… I was just economical with the truth.”
Ellis revealed he has kept the secret of Lucifer’s “Crisis” cameo for “about three-and-a-half months.” Producers first approached Ellis about a potential guest spot right before production began in early September on the fifth season of his Netflix series. For the Brit, it was an easy decision.
“It was, actually. Yeah, it was,” Ellis confirmed. “There were numerous reasons. One, when we started shooting, we did seasons one and two of Lucifer in Vancouver, so there is a big place in my heart for Vancouver. It was an opportunity to go back, see some friends and do all that sort of stuff. Also on the work side of it, we talked over the years about Lucifer being a DC character and, ‘Is there any chance of this happening?’ And I honestly thought there wasn’t.”
“So when they said [this idea], I was like, ‘Yeah, no, let’s do it. Let’s do it,’” the 41-year-old actor said. “I know Matt a little bit as well and we’ve talked about it in the past, so we made it happen! Indeed, we manifested it!”
If there were ever a perfect time for Lucifer to stir up some hellish trouble, it would be “Crisis,” which has welcomed a slew of cameos -- from Smallville’s Tom Welling to Batman: The Animated Series’ Kevin Conroy.
“I hope [the fans] are reacting with pleasure!” Ellis said with a laugh. “I mean, that’s why I wanted to keep it a surprise because really, with all these characters that we do know that are happening in the crossover, we just wanted it to be something that would surprise and it would be a nice little Easter egg.”
What is unique about the Lucifer that fans meet in Tuesday’s episode is the character isn’t the same Lucifer that’s been charming the wits off everyone he meets in the Netflix series.
“We’re playing it as if it’s in the five years before the show, Lucifer, started, so when Lucifer spent five years in L.A. before meeting the detective and all those things unfolding,” Ellis revealed. “This is him in his proper playboy, don’t-give-a-damn-about-anything stage in his life. He is very irreverent with our characters when they turn up in the scene and obviously, with Constantine, there is some history there.”
How familiar are Constantine and Lucifer with each other? “Relatively familiar, but there’s a begrudging sort of admiration amongst the two of them, I think,” he said.
Since Lucifer first debuted in 2016, it has largely been self-contained. Ellis spoke about why it made the most sense for his character to join the rest of the expanding Arrow-verse in this way.
“With these crossover episodes, it opens up a world in which they can really experiment with time and it felt like -- if there was ever going to be an opportunity, this was it, you know?” Ellis said, adding that it was “really fun” working for the first time with Ramsey and McNamara. “I turned up on set and I said, ‘Hello, David, do you remember me?’ and it was like, ‘Yeah, man!’ We fell off the stage together at Comic-Con… That was our bonding moment a few years ago, so we have a laugh about that… There were no injuries in the making of this one.”
But could this open more doors to seeing Lucifer pop up on other realms under the Arrow-verse umbrella? “That’s a question for the DC bosses, not for me! I never say never,” Ellis coyly answered.
He did offer a dream scenario he would like to see fulfilled if another crossover opportunity presented itself down the line. “I’d like Lucifer to be in a superhero costume at some point though, that’d be kind of fun. Lose the tux and all of a sudden he’s in spandex, head to toe.”
Ellis shared a message to fans, expressing his gratitude, “Thank you for watching, and if you haven’t seen Lucifer, but you’re an Arrow fan… now you’ve seen Lucifer and Arrow. Why don’t you watch Lucifer?!”
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" returns for the final two hours on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. Lucifer returns for its final season in 2020 on Netflix.
To stay up to date on breaking TV news, sign up for ET's daily newsletter.
RELATED CONTENT:
