Smallville: Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum at work on the animated series
Smallville
Smallville was without a doubt one of the best known TV series of the 2000s and one of the greatest and most imaginative explorations of the Superman myth ever to appear on screen. Now, the series looks poised to make its big comeback, this time in animated form.Smallville star Tom Welling has indeed confirmed that he and co-star Michael Rosenbaum are working on an animated continuation of the superhero series.
Smallville: animated series in production
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Smallville debuted on The WB (now The CW) in 2001 with a total of 217 episodes and 10 seasons, ending in 2011. The show starred Tom Welling as a young Clark Kent and followed his formative years in the Kansas town of Smallville as he developed his skills and made both friends and enemies. along the road. Chief among these was Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor, who debuted as one of Clark's best friends and slowly became the Man of Steel's most cunning enemy. There have also been appearances of notable DC heroes such as Aquaman, Green Arrow and Black Canary, among others.Tom Welling looks ready to return, this time producing, alongside Michael Rosenbaum, the animated version of Smallville:
“Michael Rosenbaum and I are actually working on an animated series to bring those characters back to life, and use as many members of the original cast as possible. Don't tell anyone, though. It's a secret, we're still working on it ”.
Whether it's a secret or not, rumors have started to run, even if nothing concrete is known yet.
TOM WELLING IS BACK AS SUPERMAN FOR A SMALLVILLE ANIMATED SERIES… .SOMEBODY SAAAAAAAVE ME pic.twitter.com/cQbgkTjIHB
- BLURAYANGEL (@blurayangel) June 24, 2021
For much of its 10 seasons, Smallville stayed away from the larger DC Universe, and not even Tom Welling ever wore the red and blue Superman costume until the final moments of his series finale. But, especially in recent seasons, Smallville has managed to bring to life a version of the DC Universe full of recognizable characters such as Green Arrow (Justin Hartley), Aquaman (Alan Ritchson, who can now be seen on Titans as Hawk), the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Justice Society of America, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and others.
So, it's easy to think that a Smallville animated series could have a lot to tell about the origins of all of these characters and focus on a fully formed DCU, with Welling's Superman as the central character.
What is unclear at the moment is whether Clark Kent's story will be picked up before or after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the 2019 TV crossover that revealed that Clark and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) got married, returned to the Kent family farm and are raising twin daughters, with Clark giving up his Superman identity and its po teri. So one might wonder if the Smallville animated series would be set in the days before this happened or if it will tell about a Clark once again forced to respond to the needs of the world and use his powers again.
We remind you. that this isn't the only time the Smallville universe has been expanded. DC Comics has indeed released a series of comics based on Season 11, which captured the early days of Clark's career as Superman. The comics have introduced even more DC characters to Smallville, including Eclipso, the Green Lantern Corps, and more.
Buy the Complete Smallville Series at Amazon!
Smallville star Tom Welling on mission to bring back original cast members for animated sequel series
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No… it’s Tom Welling, treating Smallville fans to a massive dose of nostalgia as he promises a return to playing Superman in an animated series with original cast members in tow.
There may now be a gazillion actors playing Superman simultaneously (ok, namely Tyler Hoechlin in the Superman and Lois TV series and Henry Cavill in the DC Extended Universe), but everyone’s favourite superpowered farm boy Tom is planning on getting back in on the action.
Tom first made his debut as Clark Kent in Smallville in 2001, with the series airing for a decade until May 2011.
Now two years after making a cameo as Clark in The CW’s Arrowverse crossover event, the actor has revealed he has his sights set on reprising the role in an animated show.
In a video shared on Cameo, Tom filmed himself saying that he and Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor in Smallville, are working on bringing ‘those characters back to life’.
‘Michael Rosenbaum and I are actually working on an animated series to bring those characters back to life and use as many of the original cast members as possible,’ the Cheaper by the Dozen actor said.
Tom Welling’s journey as Superman isn’t quite over (Picture: The WB/The CW)‘Don’t tell anybody, though. It’s a secret. We’re still working on it,’ he added. As if we would ever tell!
Michael previously spoke about the animated series, explaining in a video that it was an idea that he and Tom had.
However, Tom’s latest announcement definitely sounds like more concrete proof that it’s officially in development.
Several Smallville fans expressed their excitement over the upcoming animated series, with one tweeting: ‘YES BABY….. THE BEST CLARK KENT AND LEX BABY.’
‘I will literally fund this myself if I have to,’ another wrote.
Smallville fans are ecstatic about Tom’s potential return (Picture: Channel 4)In 2019, Tom appeared in the second part of The CW’s Crisis On Infinite Earth, a massive crossover event in the Arrowverse.
In the episode, it’s discovered that Clark gave up his powers as Superman to focus on being a husband and father for his family.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly at the time, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries explained that Clark’s storyline felt ‘natural’.
More: US TV news‘We had conversations about how to best see Tom again. We knew that we really wanted Brandon Routh as Clark Kent in the Daily Planet,’ she said.
‘I think the Tom Welling’s Clark Kent that we all kind of picture when we think of him, is Clark on the farm. So it made sense. The farm is still there. It all felt very 10 years ago in a great way. To us, it just felt natural that that’s kind of his natural environment where we’d see him.’
Smallville is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
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