It’s an interesting time to be a Superman fan. As The CW’s latest series,Superman & Lois, comes to a close with its fourth and final season just in time forJames Gunn’sSupermanto hit theaters next summer, there’s still one interpretation of the Man of Steel that fans want to revisit:Tom Welling’s Clark Kent fromSmallville. With one CW version of Superman coming to a close and another theatrical underway, why not bring the longest-running TV version of the character back onto our streaming screens? Now is the perfect time for an officialSmallvillesequel.
Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum Want ‘Smallville’ To Continue
In recent years, the hit WB-to-CW Superman prequel has been revisited by fans via streaming and a plethora of rewatch podcasts have sprung up to celebrate the hit series. One such podcast isTalk Ville, hosted bySmallville’s very own Tom Welling andMichael Rosenbaumas they recall their time filming the 10-season series, bringing on guests from the show’s vast history. These two can’t seem to stop talking aboutSmallville, adding more and more convention dates andSmallvillemeet-ups across the country, and we love it. Fans are eating all thisSmallvillecontent, and Welling and Rosenbaum — who are still best known for their work astelevision’s greatest Clark Kent and Lex Luthor duo— have more material up their sleeve as well:an animated series.
“We’ve already got an artist, and we have a poster, and we haven’t been able to share it yet, but [it is] like Lionel Luthor looming over everybody, and it’s really cool,” Welling revealed in August at Terrificon 2024 (viaFandom Spotlight). The problem is they can’t do anything with it until DC Entertainment (and, more likely, James Gunn’s DC Studios) gives them the green light. “But we’re ready. [Alfred Gough and Miles Millar], who wroteSmallville, want to write it, but it’s not our property until they say we can do it.” Welling notes that, aside from Rosenbaum and himself,Erica Durance,Kristin Kreuk,Laura Vandervoort, and seeminglyJohn Gloverare all interested in coming back. With all that on the table, Warner Bros. and DC would be crazy not to give this series (which ran for 218 episodes between 2001 and 2011) another go.
Of course,Rosenbaum has also stated that hewould be interested in a movie continuationif Gough and Millar preferred that medium. In an interview withScreenRant, the formerSmallvillestar explained, “If Al and Miles did it and wanted to do a one and half hour movie, I think Tom and I — we’d all consider it.” For them, all that matters is that the story and characters are treated with respect. Still, now is the perfect time for this sort of venture. With the shake-up at DC Studios andRosenbaum’s close friend James Gunnnow in charge, why not take a cue out of Marvel Studios’ playbook and expand the multiversal reach into animation?X-Men ‘97was a massive hit for Marvel, andWhat If…?has proven that audiences can still enjoy tales set in timelines other than the “main branch.” Gunn’sSupermanmay have to hit theaters first, but afterward,there’s no reason that Welling’s Man of Steel couldn’t return in an animated format.
A ‘Smallville’ Sequel Could Take the Superman Mythos in a Different Direction
Thelast we saw of theSmallvilleuniverse— or, at least, what looks like theSmallvilleuniverse — was in the Arrowverse’s massive “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. In theBatwomanhour, penned by formerSmallvillescribesDon WhiteheadandHolly Henderson, we return to the Kent farm to see an older Clark Kent and Lois Lane.Clark is now de-powered and retired as Superman, and he and Lois are tackling the new challenges of parenthood. It’s revealed here that, unlike what we see withTyler HoechlinandElizabeth Tulloch’s variants inSuperman & Lois,Smallville’s Clark and Lois have young girls.
Since most Superman traditions give the Man of Steel a son as the heir to his Superman kingdom (most recently Jon Kent in the DC Comics),this would be a fun switch-up that could giveSmallvillenew life as a father-daughter tale, especially since the original series was largely about fathers and sons.Smallville, of course, always had a history of well-rounded and complicated female characters. Lois herself was one of these, but there was also Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman), Martha Kent (Annette O’Toole), Kara Zor-El (Vandervoort), andKristin Kreuk’s Lana Lang.It just makes sense thatSmallville’s Clark and Lois would have daughters instead of sons, and it would no doubt shift the entire Kent family dynamic, especially if they developed powers like their father.
Of course, aSmallvillesequel could go in another direction entirely. Welling noted in the Terificon panel that he’s not entirely sure that his “Crisis on Infinite Earths” appearance was the same Clark fromSmallville, nor does he know how he gave up his Kryptonian abilities. If Welling, Rosenbaum, and the gang wanted to,they could pick upSmallvilleright where the original series left off, especially if they were to pursue an animated venture. That, or continue fromBryan Q. Miller’sSmallville Season 11comic series…
‘Smallville’ Has So Much Potential Left as a Series
The fact remains,Smallvillestill has a lot of potential. As Welling and Rosenbaum revisit every season of the original series, it’s become clear that the show’s strength lies in its seamless blendbetween freak-of-the-week standalone episodesand overarching comic book-inspired plots thatpushed Clark closer to becoming Superman. In aSmallvillecontinuation, however, Clark would already be Superman. Given thatthe show only gave us small tastes of what Clark’s life would be like as the Man of Steel(seen in episodes like “Salvation,” “Homecoming,” and “Finale”), it would be a delight to return to this universe and watch howSmallville’s Superman would handle whatever other challenges are thrown his way. (Plus, we still need to seehow Lex Luthor makes his way to the White House!)
Like comic books themselves,animation would give theSmallvillecrew plenty of freedomto show all the costumes and superheroics the original show had to set aside and offer fans what we waited on for a whole decade: Welling playing Superman. Sure, it would be animated, but if that’s what it takes to get Welling to commit to playing the Man of Steel and not just Clark Kent, what petition do we need to sign to make it happen? After all, the show has done animation before! When Season 7 aired, the network producedSmallville Legends:Kara and the Chronicles of Kryptonto tie into the main plotline while exploring Krypton’s final hours. Sure, it was a bit low-budget, but it was only meant to be a promotional tie-in. A realSmallvilleanimated series would be higher quality, one that could hopefully rivalother DC animated productions likeJustice LeagueandYoung Justice.
In any event, the wise words of Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) still ring faithfully in our ears. “Always hold onto Smallville,” he told Clark when he handed him the blue suit and red cape. Just as we’re sure that Superman hasn’t forgotten where he came from, we haven’t either. As we await the DC Universe’s next interpretation of the Man of Steel, and watch the CW fade out their latest version of the character, here’s hoping that theSmallvillestory won’t die out. These beloved versions of these iconic DC characters deserve to be revisited, especially if those who brought them to life are finally willing to continue.
Smallville
A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville, Kansas.
Smallvilleis available for streaming on Hulu.
Watch on Hulu
