All right everyone else can sit down, the OG is back. According to Deadline, Tom Welling is set to reprise his role of Clark Kent from Smallville in this year’s Arrowverse crossover on The CW.
Smallville, the granddaddy of all modern superhero shows ran from 2001 to 2011. In it, Welling starred as a young Clark Kent in a coming-of-age story about growing up as a super-powered alien. It was a campy, original, and surprisingly heartfelt look at the origins of Superman long before he ever became Superman. Welling’s Lois Lane, Erica Durance, is also reportedly set to join the crossover event. Fingers crossed that Michael Rosenbaum returns to portray the best version of Lex Luthor ever seen on screen. (Fight me, Hackman, Spacey, and Eisenberg ain’t got shit on Rosenbaum.)
The news likely comes as a huge surprise to Smallville fans though as Welling has been notoriously reluctant to return to the role since 2011. Marc Guggenheim, Arrow co-creator and executive producer, noted how huge this is for the event.
“For eight years, Arrow has stood on the shoulders of Smallville. Simply put, there would be no Arrow, and no Arrowverse, without it. So when we first started talking about Crisis on Infinite Earths, our first, second and third priorities were getting Tom to reprise his iconic role as Clark Kent. To say that we’re thrilled would be a Superman-sized understatement.”
For those of you keeping track at home, the Superman count for this crossover event is now up to three. Tyler Hoechlin has been playing the Big Blue Boy Scout in the Arrowverse since appearing in Supergirl. Then, back at Comic-Con, it was revealed that Brandon Routh would be reprising his role as Supes from Superman Returns for the event. Now, if they could just land Henry Cavill we’d have a full-on Superman team that’d be nigh unbeatable.
The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths event will air in five parts across December and January.
