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'Legends of Tomorrow' favorite Brandon Routh to guest star on 'Quantum Leap' in key role
Worlds are about to collide!
Fan fave sci-fi star Brandon Routh is officially leaping into the path of Dr. Ben Song. SYFY WIRE has confirmed that the beloved Legends of Tomorrow and Superman Returns alum will guest star in an upcoming installment of NBC's Quantum Leap revival as Alexander Augustine, father of Addison (Caitlin Bassett).
Scheduled to air Monday, March 6, the episode — titled "S.O.S." — finds Ben (Raymond Lee) boarding "a naval warship during war games in 1989, where he must not only navigate a dangerous rescue mission but also contend with his commanding officer, Alexander," reads the official synopsis provided by IGN, which was first to break the news.
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"Growing up watching Quantum Leap, it was an honor to portray such a pivotal character in Addison’s life," Routh said in a statement. "Ray and Caitlin are a fantastic duo and I loved being a part of the QL team. As an Iowan, it was also exciting to film on the USS Iowa!"
Routh is only the latest genre fave to guest star on the series to date, as Jewel Staite (Firefly), Robert Picardo (Star Trek), Carly Pope, Elyse Levesque (Stargate Universe), and Justin Hartley (Smallville) have all made guest appearances throughout the first season. Routh, however, is the first actor to be playing a role directly connected to our heroes — which gives his guest stint a bit of extra oomph. We don't actually know a ton about Addison's history, so this should be an interesting episode to fill in some of that gaps. Plus, we get the Arrowverse's former Ray Palmer in some battleship action!
The modern day revamp of Quantum Leap co-stars Ernie Hudson, Mason Alexander Park, and Nanrisa Lee. Don Bellisario (creator of the original series) is an executive producer alongside showrunner Martin Gero, Dean Georgaris, Deborah Pratt, Chris Grismer, Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt. Drew Lindo, Deric Hughes, Benjamin Raab, and Aadrita Mukerji are co-executive producers.
"It made sense to be a continuation that honors the old show but also have a low bar for entry for new viewers," Gero explained to SYFY WIRE last year. "We want all of the rabid fans to return and have it feel like Quantum Leap. But it’s an evolution."
As Legends fans are well aware, The CW's long-running sci-fi series was cancelled on a cliffhanger with the entire team caught by some mysterious time police. We've heard the final season of The Flash (which is running now) will aim to at least wrap up that show's dangling threads, but no word on exactly which stars might return. Here's hoping we see Routh suit up one more time, but if not, we'll at least have him joining a fresh sci-fi universe on Quantum Leap.
New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, then stream next-day on Peacock. A second season is currently in development.
