A New Superman TV Series in the Works For The CW

The CW is all about superheroes thanks to shows like Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning and the soon-to-end Arrow. The big news this year is a massive crossover event called Crisis on Infinite Earths, which brings together heroes from those shows and many from the past as well. It will also mark the return of Supergirl guest stars Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch as Superman and Lois Lane, who, it’s been announced, are going to be starring in their own series for the network, Superman & Lois.

The rumors of a new series focusing on the Man of Steel began last October. The last time that the character was featured in a live-action TV show of his own was on the CW prequel Smallville, which enjoyed a 10-year run beginning in 2001. Since then he’s primarily been on the big screen in the form of Henry Cavill starting with 2013’s Man of Steel; and then through a trio of guest appearances on the CW’s Supergirl, with Tyler donning the famous blue and red costume.

The first show focusing on the character was 1952-1958’s Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves as the Man of Steel. This was followed by 1966-1969’s animated The New Adventures of Superman, 1973-1985’s animated variations of Super Friends, 1988’s animated Superman as well as 1988-1992’s live-action Superboy (first played by John Haymes Newton and then Gerard Christopher), 1993-1997’s live-action Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (with Dean Cain donning the tights alongside Teri Hatcher),1996-2000’s Superman: The Animated Series, Smallville (starring Tom Welling), 2001-2006’s animated Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, the animated Justice League Action, which launched in 2016; and the recent series that indirectly involved the character, Krypton. Currently the character of Superboy is featured on the DC Universe streaming series Titans.

Which leads us back to the new Superman & Lois, which has preceded by a number of events taking place involving the Man of Steel character that had been suggesting that this was a possibility.

Please scroll down to check them out.

Henry Cavill Has Likely Hung Up His Cape

Last year came word that, after his third portrayal of Superman (following Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League), Warner Bros has dropped plans for any other films starring Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel. The studio attempted to play peacemaker by offering a statement to the fans which read, “While no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we’ve always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged.”

While the studio has been mentioning a big screen version of Supergirl (despite The CW series starring Melissa Benoist), there’s no talk of Superman whatsoever. Obviously this could change, but it doesn’t seem likely, which is unfortunate considering that Henry’s Mission Impossible: Fallout writer/director, Christopher McQuarrie, has expressed interest in working with the actor on a Superman film.

Brand Confusion Is No Longer an Issue

During the second season of Supergirl, Warner Bros allowed the Superman character to appear (appropriate considering that the characters are cousins). Tyler Hoechlin took on the role in the first two episodes, and made a third appearance in the season finale — which in turn was followed by last year’s CW crossover event. From what we’ve been told, the studio was reluctant to allow the character to be used any more than that out of fear of “brand confusion.” This, of course, somehow missing the fact that Gotham aired on FOX and Batman is on the big screen, or that Grant Gustin plays the Flash on The CW series of the same name and Ezra Miller played him in Justice League and is supposed to get his own film. Obviously this is no longer an issue.

‘Metropolis’ No More

DC Universe is the streaming service of DC Comics, offering classic films, TV series, and comic books, as well as original programming such Titans, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, Stargirl, Young Justice and Harley Quinn. Another show that was supposed to be a part of it was Metropolis, which had actually been designed to be a prequel in the sense that it would follow Lois Lane and Lex Luthor in the days before the arrival of Superman. But then the show was put back into development. Why?

One possible reason could be that the premise was just dopey (why not do a show about Ma and Pa Kent before they found infant Kal-El in his rocket ship?). The other is that if there is any serious thought being given to the idea of a new Superman series, why would the studio want two Superman series out there?

Elizabeth Tulloch Scored as Lois Lane

From 2011 to 2017, Elizabeth Tulloch was one of the stars of NBC’s Grimm, playing Juliette Silverton, girlfriend of David Giuntoli‘s Detective Nick Burkhardt, who must take on supernatural forces to protect the world. Last year Elizabeth was cast as ace reporter, and Superman’s girlfriend, Lois Lane, fleshing things out in the Man of Steel’s world and, again, suggesting that something bigger was going on.

When she was first cast, Elizabeth took to Instagram and commented, “When I started acting, one of my teachers asked me to watch the screen tests for the role of Lois Lane for 1978’s Superman. All of the actresses were terrific, but it was always clear to me why Margot Kidder won the role: she seemed lit from within, full of joie de vivre. Now, at a time when the noble profession of journalism feels under siege, it’s a privilege to join the club of actresses who have played the dogged reporter.

“As far back as 1938 when she first appeared in Action Comics #1, Lois Lane has defined and subverted society’s expectations of how women should behave. She was portrayed as opinionated, inquisitive, and an unapologetically badass career woman at a time when many representations of women leaned more towards meek and demure. One of the reasons the character has remained so compelling for the last 80 years is that she has all these formidable, strong-willed qualities, but she’s also vulnerable, romantic, and feminine. A truly modern woman.”

Lex Luthor Is Already a Part of the Universe

Last season, Lex Luthor, in the form of Jon Cryer, played out a story arc on Supergirl, which fueled speculation that this is yet another sign that the pieces were coming together for a Superman show. Given that Cryer did such a great job as the character, one can only hope that he’ll be a part of Superman & Lois as well.