A new report indicates that a Superman television show starring Tyler Hoechlin is in the works at The CW.
Fandomwire reports Warner Bros. wants to “move Superman to the small screen.” They believe the upcoming CW crossover Elseworlds will “act as a backdoor pilot.” The crossover is expected to introduce Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane as well. Their report indicates a Superman TV show isn’t a done deal. It depends on fan reactions to Lane’s and Superman’s portrayal on the show. If they end up being popular, the show will have a better chance of getting a greenlight.
Adding to this rumor, is the confirmation that Lex Luthor will debut on Supergirl and is expected to be a recurring role. Executive producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller are excited about bringing in Luthor:
“We’re beyond excited to introduce iconic villain, Lex Luthor, to Supergirl and to weave him into our story this season. We’ve talked about having Lex on the show since its inception and we’re excited to have him finally arrive. We can’t wait for him to shake things up in National City and watch him go toe to toe with not only Supergirl, but his sister Lena Luthor.”
Casting for Luthor is expected to begin shortly.
Unlike the confirmed appearance of Superman during the Elseworlds crossover, Luthor is not expected to show up.
Warner Bros. hasn’t had a live-action Superman television show since Smallville, although one could argue that the last real Superman television show was Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. However, Warner Bros. had their first season of Krypton on SyFy last year and they are also allegedly working on a Metropolis television show that is expected to debut on DC’s streaming service DC Universe.
This news might make some fans wary as Warner Bros. has had an interesting relationship between its film properties and The CW’s Arrowverse. Arrow producer Marc Guggenheim explained last December why the show wasn’t allowed to use Deathstroke:
“For a time they were saying ‘you can’t use Deathstroke’, and that changed and we were able to have Slade Wilson back on the show, and now we’re back to ‘you can’t use him’. They’re working on the feature film version, it really is sort of now that you’ve got obviously Slade, spoiler alert, Deathstroke appears at the end of the Justice League movie.”
It’s possible this might have changed as Metropolis was expected to focus on Lois Lane and they will be introducing her into the Arrowverse. However, this could also indicate that the rumors of Henry Cavill being out as Superman could be true. It also means that Jesse Eisenberg’s version of Lex Luthor in the DC Extended Universe could be at an end.
What do you make of this new report? Would you be interested in seeing a Superman show starring Tyler Hoechlin?