EXCLUSIVE: Superman deserves the Spider-Verse treatment.
Throughout the decades, several actors have brought the Man of Steel to life in various Superman TV shows and movies, allowing the DC icon to continue to shine in the world of pop culture. As Krypton’s last son has been adapted for the big and small screens, there have only been a handful of times when certain versions have gotten to cross over with one another.
ScreenRant’s Andy Behbakht recently interviewed Smallville star Tom Welling for the 25th anniversary of the iconic DC TV drama. As the Superman veteran has united with other actors to play the Man of Tomorrow through conventions, he was asked if they had all ever discussed the idea of approaching Warner Bros. to try to make a big DC crossover project, or even some kind of reunion special where they sit down and talk about their experiences portraying Clark Kent.
Welling admitted that “I didn’t think about that,” while elaborating that, “there was a point – I think last year – [where there] was a big push on the con circuit where we were all seeing each other a lot. There was a big push for getting all the Supermen together, so we did have a bunch of conversations like, ‘Yeah, why don’t we all work together?'” However, he noted that “but nothing formal about exactly what that would be. But we all get along so well, whether it’s Brandon [Routh] we’re all buddies. We all share this same but different experience, and they’re great guys, they’re all good people.”
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One of the things that the Smallville seasons did a lot of during its run was legacy casting, where other stars from past DC media properties came on The WB/The CW series for special roles. As Michael Rosenbaum had a little voice cameo in James Gunn’s Superman, Welling was also asked if he would be open to join the DC Universe if he ever gets the option to the DC Studios franchise as a different character. He shared, “Well, I’ve learned enough in this industry that you don’t do yourself any service saying no before anything. [laughs] You got to keep your mind open, so that’s how I kind of feel about it.”
When the Spider-Verse films were brought up and how succesful it was to see multiple versions of the web-crawler united, Welling said how “it’s cool! You almost have to watch it twice to understand exactly what happens, in a good way.” The DC lead was also a big fan of what Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures did in 2021, “when Tobey Maguire came back and they did Spider Man [No Way Home] a couple years ago. I was like, ‘That’s awesome. I really enjoyed watching that movie!'”
The Arrowverse did bring a handful of Supermen together during the five-part Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, where Welling reprised his version of Clark, showing what his life was like after the Smallville series finale in 2011. That is where he was briefly together with Tyler Hoechlin’s iteration from Earth-38, with the Teen Wolf alum also sharing the screen in the event with Brandon Routh’s incarnation.
Smallville is available on Hulu (via Disney+) and through home media release.
- Release Date
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2001 – 2011-00-00
- Showrunner
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Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Brian Peterson, Kelly Souders, Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer
- Directors
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Mike Rohl, Jeannot Szwarc, Glen Winter, Terrence O’Hara, Whitney Ransick, Mairzee Almas, Paul Shapiro, Rick Rosenthal, David Carson, James L. Conway, Chris Long, Michael Katleman, Morgan Beggs, Allison Mack, David Barrett, Marita Grabiak, Michael W. Watkins, Philip Sgriccia, Rick Wallace, Thomas J. Wright, Todd Slavkin, Brad Turner, Charles Beeson, Craig Zisk
- Writers
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Steven S. DeKnight, Holly Henderson, Don Whitehead, Caroline Dries, Mark Verheiden, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Philip Levens, Jordan Hawley, Kenneth Biller, Michael Green, Drew Z. Greenberg, Geoff Johns, John Chisholm, Drew Landis, Julia Swift, Doris Egan, Tracy Bellomo, Garrett Lerner, Greg Walker, Russel Friend, Shintaro Shimosawa, Tim Schlattmann, todd helbing
