Over the weekend the superhero show that started it all celebrated its 20th anniversary. Yep, it’s been 20 years since Smallville first debuted on our screens (please join me in feeling old). It’s been a further ten since the series finale, but it looks like the series could be making a comeback.
Original cast members Tom Welling (Clark Kent) and Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) recently spoke about the possible return of Smallville as an animated series and it seems the idea is very much alive.
Is the Smallville animated series real?
Shortly after the Smallville series finale, DC ran a comic book series for Smallville Season 11. After this ended it was all quiet on the Smallville front for years.
Then in June 2021, Tom Welling revealed in a Cameo video to a fan that he and Rosenbaum were working on a Smallville animated series with “as many original cast members as possible.”
This was intended to be a secret but, of course, the internet finds a way.
Following DC FanDome over the weekend we have a few more details on how this animated series will play out.
IGN spoke to Rosenbaum and Welling who were attending the DC event to celebrate Smallville’s anniversary and release on Blu-Ray.
The actors couldn’t say much but they could confirm that the Smallville animated series was indeed real.
“It’s something that we’re passionate about. Something we love. Hopefully we’re going to obviously share, with Warner Brothers, when the time is right. And hopefully we’ll be able to work with them. And that’s about all we can say right now.” Rosenbaum said.
What will the new series be about?
Smallville told a lot of tales over its 200+ episode run, so where could a sequel series go?
Rosenbaum went on to tell IGN that there were still “a lot of stories” to tell in the Smallville universe and that the series would hopefully answer a lot of questions about the characters’ fates after the series finale.
“Here we are, 20 years later since it started and one of the most frequent questions is, where do you see your characters now? So that’s literally what we’ll be addressing.” Welling said.
Many will remember that Smallville’s finale ended with Clark Kent finally donning the tights and cape as Superman after ten seasons. Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor was also brought back from the dead in the finale as a clone, meaning both characters have more story options for the future series.
Welling and Rosenbaum couldn’t confirm whether the animated series would pick up after the Season 11 comic book run. There was also no word on which other cast members might be returning.
It’s not much to go off, but regardless, this Smallville news has officially saved my day.