During a chat with Screen Rant, Michael Rosenbaum, who holds the record for playing Lex Luthor longer than anyone else, spilled the beans about the animated sequel he and Tom Welling are planning. The two castmates and the original creators of ‘Smallville’ want to revive the show, as the actor explained:
“All I could share is that it’s a great idea. We have Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar], the creators of ‘Smallville’ backing us up. When it’s the right time, we’d like to go and do this; pitch to Warner Bros. It has to be the right time, and right now is not the right time. We had the strike, we had a change of executives at DC — one being one of my best friends in the world, James Gunn.”
Rosenbaum wants to reprise his role alongside the other cast members:
“When the time’s right, I think it’s something that’s a no brainer, unless they have other ideas. We’d like to do it — the whole cast would like to do it. They would voice their own character from the show, and we have a concept of what the show is.”
The Plans Have Been Around For Years
It’s been around 15 years since ‘Smallville’ ended its run on The CW, with Tom Welling’s Superman soaring into the sky. The lead actor and Rosenbaum have since been piecing together the concept for its animated sequel.
Welling shared at the Fan Expo Vancouver in 2022, alongside Erica Durance, who played Lois Lane, their idea to bring back the original cast for the animated show. He hinted at a plot that might explore ‘a Multiverse thing’:
“We’ve already gotten animation; we just don’t have the stories yet because Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar] are busy doing Tim Burton-like movies. As soon as they are done with that, we’re going to do this. I want to be Clark’s voice, I want Erica to be Lois’ voice, that’s going to be the fun of it. I think there’s a story that Al and Miles are going to tell that’s individual and new and call it a Multiverse thing. But let’s see where it goes, and it’ll be fun.”
The Main Cast Is Willing To Return
Welling, reflecting on his time with ‘Smallville,’ also mentioned he’d be up for reprising his role. He told Rosenbaum’s ‘Inside Of You’ podcast:
“Of course! I mean, listen, I was thinking about this the other day right before we did our ‘Talk Ville Podcast,’ we were on one of the most successful shows in the history of television, like Top 50.”
Yet, he also remarked on the lack of follow-up offers:
“From that show, I’ve never gotten an incoming call from anyone involved in that show for further work. I don’t mean to, I’m not saying like I don’t feel bad about that, I don’t harp on anybody about that. But you would think that when you’re successful, you would be continued successful with successful people. But I think the time has changed.”
While ‘Smallville’ fans wait for more news on the sequel, the DC Universe is bustling with activity. David Corenswet is set to play Superman in James Gunn’s upcoming ‘Superman’ movie, scheduled for July 2025. Additionally, ‘Superman & Lois,’ starring Tyler Hoechlin, is getting ready for its next season, set to air in fall 2024.
