'Lucifer Season 5: Tom Ellis talks Devil's 'proper playboy' stage ahead of series return

Tom Ellis made a surprise cameo as "Lucifer" in "Crisis on Infinite Earths." It had fans asking how his appearance fits with the Devil's timeline in "Lucifer" Season 5.

A month ago, the Welsh actor denied his involvement in the "Arrowverse" crossover event. His appearance on Tuesday's episode of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was a welcome surprise for Lucifans, albeit it also raised a lot of questions. One involves how Lucifer's story in the Arrowverse fits in with his timeline in the Netflix series.

After all, "Lucifer" Season 4 ended with the Devil heading back to lord over hell. His cameo in The CW series had him meeting with Constantine, Mia, and Diggle to grant them access to hell. However, at the time of the meeting, he was not back in his own turf but still in Los Angeles, running Lux.

Likewise, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the devil looked particularly younger in "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Much younger than his "Lucifer" days. To answer fans' questions, Ellis explained how the devil's cameo in the Arrowverse crossover episode fits into "Lucifer" Season 5.

"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 told ET, adding "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..."

Likewise, "Lucifer" co-showrunner Joe Henderson shared that the Devil's appearance in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" on Earth-666 happened way before the show started. It is a "prequel" to the events that happened in the first season of the Netflix series.

"In the script, Lucifer says he's expecting [onetime LUX employee] Delilah in the alley. They had to cut the line for time, but I thought that was a clever way to ground the 'when' of it all," Henderson told TV Line.

Lucifans may remember Delilah from the pilot episode. She was a former musician at Lux whom Lucifer helped with her music career. She was sadly murdered, and her death paved the way for the Devil and Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) to meet and eventually work together.

Ellis said it was a great opportunity for the Devil to cameo in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and he hoped to have the character appear in other DC shows in the future. He would love to see Lucifer in a superhero suit since he is always in a tux even in "Lucifer" Season 5.

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