A new update from James Gunn has me hopeful about the proposed Smallville sequel. An idea envisioned by the classic CW show's Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) and Tom Welling (Clark Kent), a pitch was recently made to Warner Bros. regarding an animated sequel series that picks up where the 10-season live-action show left off. However, there has yet to be any official word about whether the series will actually be happening.
The original DC CW show, Smallville was an iconic coming-of-age story starring Tom Welling as Clark Kent in the years before he officially became Superman, as well as Clark's friend and future nemesis Lex Luthor (Rosenbaum). The show was incredibly popular with a fanbase that's still quite strong today, explaining the desire for the story to continue beyond the series finale. While nothing concrete about the proposed Smallville sequel has been confirmed thus far, I do think James Gunn's recent update about DC Studios' release plans is a good sign.
James Gunn's Reveal Of DC's Yearly Release Plans Could Explain Why The Smallville Sequel Plans Appear To Have Not Been Addressed By DC Directly Yet
There's Not Yet Room In The Schedule
Back in November of 2024, Tom Welling did give an unfortunate update regarding his and Michael Rosenbaum's pitch to Warner Bros. about an animated Smallville revival series. According to Welling, they've yet to hear back one way or the other from Warner Bros, as Smallville just doesn't seem to be all that big of a priority for DC Studios at the moment. On the one hand, this makes sense as DC Studios is actively trying to launch a brand-new DC Universe this year.
That being said, a recent "DCU Catch-Up Day" with the press saw DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran revealing what their expected annual release model is going to look like. Apparently, DC Studios will be looking to release 2 live-action films and one animated film a year. For television, they're also looking to release two live-action shows and two animated series each year as well. Keeping that in mind, it's possible that Welling and Rosenbaum haven't heard back yet because the current schedule is too full for the immediate future.
I'm Still Incredibly Hopeful Smallville's Sequel Plans Could Be Officially Approved
Animation Looks To Be A Priority (And Not Necessarily Within The DCU)
It's exciting to see that there’s a specific number of animated DC releases planned per year. Keeping that in mind, the fact Welling and company haven’t heard back from WB yet could simply be because they can’t take on another animated project for the time being. It's more than likely that they already have enough for the next few years already in the pipeline. It's also exciting that some of these animated projects might not necessarily be set in the DCU proper.
10 Smallville Decisions That Aged Way Better Than Any Of Us Expected
The Man of Steel’s origin series ran for many seasons, making controversial choices through its run that have since been proven wiser than expected.
Shows like My Adventures with Superman and Harley Quinn are both Elseworlds series, and the same will likely be true for the newly announced My Adventures with Green Lantern. Furthermore, Gunn and Safran recently confirmed that the jury is still out about whether Dynamic Duo will be set in the DCU or not. As such, it does give me a certain degree of hope that the Smallville sequel series still has a chance of being greenlit one day, even if it doesn't happen in the immediate future. It certainly seems like there's a lot of great ion behind it and fan engagement would be high.
Why A Smallville Sequel Would Be A Perfect Elseworlds Spinoff For DC
Prime Nostalgia With A Built-In Fanbase
The chance to revive such a beloved DC series with several of the same actors voicing their characters should be an absolute no-brainer for Warner Bros. The nostalgia factor would undoubtedly be a big draw, and the show still has tons of fans who would readily consume new Smallville content. It'd also help tick the box for DC Studios regarding their professed interest in producing new Elseworlds content right alongside DCU projects. With any luck, some positive traction and updates for the proposed sequel series will be coming soon, even if it takes some time for the actual project to materialize.
Smallville
- Release Date
- 2001 - 2017-00-00
Cast
Sam Jones III
Annette O'Toole
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