Prison Breaks Best Cast Reunion Happened 3 Years Before The Shows Divisive Revival

When Prison Break was revived in 2017, fans rejoiced at the reunion of lead co-stars, Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller, however, their best reunion actually happened 3 years beforehand. Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller first appeared on-screen together in the hit series, Prison Break, in 2005. Prison Break aired on Fox and featured two brothers called Lincoln Burrows (Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Miller). When Lincoln is sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, his brother, Michael, turns up with his body full of tattooed plans, and helps them both break out of prison on the hit show.

Following Prison Break season 1’s conclusion, where the show truly lived up to its name, the show had a hard time coming up with ideas to continue the show in the seasons after. Prison Break ran for a successful four seasons before being axed. Surprisingly, eight years later, the show returned for a final fifth season, reuniting the Prison Break stars for the first time in eight years. However, Purcell and Miller actually reunited before their divisive Prison Break revival, when they appeared as some of the best characters on the CW’s The Flash in 2014, as DC villains, Captain Cold and Heat Wave.

Prison Break’s Dominic Purcell & Wentworth Miller Reunited On The Flash In 2014

Leonard Snart And Mick Rory Were A Hit

As one of Arrowverse’s most popular shows on Netflix, The Flash has hosted a few big names since it first aired in 2014, including Prison Break’s Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller. Purcell and Miller first appeared in The Flash in season 1, episode 4, “Going Rogue,” as contrasting characters, Leonard Snart and Mick Rory. This would be their first on-screen reunion since starring as brothers in Prison Break. They had a really interesting dynamic in The Flash as Snart had an affinity for ice, and Rory had an affinity for fire, yet the two were criminal partners who worked well together.

After Leonard Snart earns his moniker as “Captain Cold” for using a stolen cold gun which is capable of freezing anything, including the Flash, he teams up with his former partner, Rory. As recurring characters, Purcell and Miller appear in The Flash’s first seasons as villains with opposite elemental guns. They eventually form a villain group called the Rogues and battle the Flash and his team throughout season 1 and season 2. Purcell and Miller then moved over to another Arrowverse show, set in the same universe as The Flash, called Legends of Tomorrow, this time as main characters – continuing their collaboration.

Why Prison Break’s Revival Was So Divisive After The 8-Year Wait

They Ran Out Of Ideas

Despite working together for years, when Purcell and Miller reunited in the revival of Prison Break, eight years after its cancelation, fans were divided. This was because season 4 contained a flashforward which showed Michael Scofield’s emotional death as a result of his brain cancer diagnosis. Prison Break’s season 5 revival was a mistake as the show was originally axed due to a lack of ideas. When they undid Scofield’s death, the show exemplified the issue. Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller’s The Flash might have come in a very different context, but the story’s strength made it much more effective.

Prison Break

Prison Break tells the story of two brothers who must unravel a political conspiracy while escaping from one of the most secure places on Earth. When petty criminal Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is falsely convicted of murdering the Vice President’s brother, his own brother, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), has himself incarcerated in order to stage a daring prison break using the blueprints of the facility he has tattooed on his body.  

Cast

Curtis Lum , Sarah Wayne Callies , Marina Benedict , Amin El Gamal , Wentworth Miller , Steve Mouzakis , Dominic Purcell , Bobby Naderi , Christian Michael Cooper

Release Date

August 29, 2005

Seasons

5

Network

FOX

Writers

Paul Scheuring , Nick Santora

Directors

Paul Scheuring

Expand