Long before the Arrowverse came along and established The CW as the premiere destination for small screen DC superheroes, there was Smallville. The series focusing on Clark Kent before he decided to suit up and save the world was hugely popular at the time, becoming one of the highest-rated shows on The WB before the network merged with UPN to create The CW in 2006.
Over ten seasons, Smallville averaged well above four million viewers per episode, which are the sort of numbers that any show would kill for these days, and it became embedded into the fabric of popular culture thanks to its 217 installments. It might have ended almost a decade ago, but Smallville‘s fingerprints are all over the Arrowverse, as well as other similar projects like Gotham and Pennyworth.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar’s creation has largely been confined to the history books as a nostalgic favorite, although Tom Welling and Erica Durance did reprise their roles as Clark Kent and Lois Lane for the Arrowverse’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event, establishing that Smallville exists in the same narrative space as the rest of The CW’s lineup.
Talk of a revival happens every now and again, of course, but we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Ben Affleck would be returning as Batman in The Flash, and that a Justice League Dark show is coming to HBO Max – that the network are seriously considering a return to the world of Smallville. But unfortunately, it won’t be coming back in live-action.
According to our intel, talks have started behind the scenes surrounding the idea of an animated sequel series based on the Season 11 comics, dependent on the cast’s willingness to return. Superheroes and nostalgia are both big business these days, and there would no doubt be a huge audience if Smallville was to mount a comeback in any form. Though at this stage it’s only something being discussed, we’ve certainly got our fingers crossed that such a project will eventually materialize.
