The Supergirl TV show is moving from CBS to The CW this fall, and surely wants to make a splash in its new home. With three other superhero shows already on the network — Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow — Supergirl probably has to do something to stand out, as well.
How about bringing Kara Zor-El’s more famous older cousin on for an appearance?
Warner Brothers Television announced on Monday that Superman will fly in for the first two episodes of Supergirl‘s second season. The role has not yet been cast, but producers presumably want to get that done as soon as possible as filming is set to begin soon in Vancouver (relocating from Los Angeles).
“Greg, Ali and I are beyond thrilled to welcome Clark Kent and his slightly-more-famous alter ego to the world of Supergirl,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said in a statement. “We cannot wait to see who next dons the red cape!”
We can safely guess that Henry Cavill, who’s portrayed the Man of Steel in Warner Brothers’ two most recent Superman films, will not be donning the cape for the small screen. It doesn’t sound like Tom Welling, who played young Clark Kent in The CW’s Smallville (and was Superman at the end of the series finale), will be reprising the role either.
Superman did make appearances of sorts in Supergirl‘s first and third episodes, but his face couldn’t be seen. One problem that the series frequently struggled with during its first season was acknowledging the existence of the iconic hero — and his connection to others on the show, such as Jimmy Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) — and his connection to the show’s main character, while not ever making him a part of the narrative.
Olsen explains to Kara in the pilot that Superman wants to keep his distance so that she could decide to be a superhero, use her abilities to help the world, and develop her identity on her own.
But as the season progressed and major superhuman threats arose to put Kara and/or the world in danger, it seemed a bit irresponsible for Earth’s most powerful hero not to help out. OK — presumably, Superman has other matters of his own to deal with, but it seemed a bit jerky for him to keep his distance whenever he was needed.
https://youtu.be/LtTKnkPTKi0
Hopefully, the series comes up with a decent explanation for that in season two. Maybe Superman was largely preoccupied with other villains or occasionally in another dimension. Or maybe he really was just trying to give his younger cousin some tough love.
This seems like a bit of a desperate move for Supergirl‘s producers, though one fans will surely respond to (if done well). But given that the series took a while to be renewed, eventually changed networks from CBS to The CW, in addition to moving production entirely, maybe this is something that needed to be done. Besides, as mentioned, it kind of seems like the obvious story development. Where the hell is Superman?
In the meantime, the questions for fans to bat around is who will play Superman? It’s too bad Brandon Routh, who portrayed the character in 2006’s Superman Returns, is occupied playing Ray Palmer on Legends of Tomorrow. Matt Bomer (White Collar) was once up for the role, but probably isn’t an option here, either. Maybe the show can really make things weird and cast Melissa Benoist’s real-life husband Blake Jenner as her older cousin.
Season two of Supergirl is set to debut in October on The CW, showing Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
[Deadline]
