After playing Clark Kent for ten seasons, Tom Welling turned down several opportunities to return to the role in various TV projects until the 2019 ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ crossover event. The actor opened up about his reasons for the long delay during a recent episode of the ‘TalkVille’ podcast.
“I was asked to be in a lot of the other shows after ‘Smallville’ ended, I was asked to sort of appear in them as Clark, and it never felt like their tone was the same as Clark was or what ‘Smallville’ was,” he said.
Welling’s Clark in the Arrowverse’s special revealed that the hero had given up his powers to live a quiet life with his family on Earth-167. “I still believe that in the crossover what you see Clark doing and giving up his powers and being with Lois for their family, that might not be the Clark from ‘Smallville’ because it’s a multiverse,” he commented.
Though the Superman actor wasn’t satisfied with earlier projects that offered a chance to reprise his DC role, he hasn’t completely ruled out revisiting ‘Smallville’ in some form.
When co-star Michael Rosenbaum asked if he’d like to make a ‘Smallville’ movie, the actor shared earlier this year, “I mean, I’d be ‘Yes, let’s hear it.’ I don’t know how it would happen.”
As of now, Warner Bros. hasn’t announced any plans to bring the show back. Welling and Rosenbaum are still working on an animated sequel to the story, though it’s waiting for approval from the studio to move forward.
