Even though the show ended over a decade ago, Smallville holds a special place in the hearts of DC fans everywhere to this day.
That adoration extends to the cast, too, with Tom Welling announcing in June 2021 that he and co-star Michael Rosenbaum were planning to develop an animated revival featuring as many returning cast members as they could gather. The longtime Clark Kent and Lex Luthor pitched the project to Warner Bros. earlier this year, with Smallville veterans John Glover, Sam Jones III, Kristin Kreuk, and Erica Durance all onboard, alongside showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
As it turns out, though, nobody bothered to tell Justin Hartley. The actor, who debuted as Oliver Queen in season 6 before going on to appear in 72 episodes in total (even directing two), revealed in an interview with We Got This Covered for Netflix festive romance The Noel Diary that we were the first people to tell him about it, even though he remains close with Rosenbaum.
“Um… this is the first I’m hearing about it from you! Oh, that sounds fun. Yeah, that sounds great. I talk to Michael all the time, and we’ve never talked about it!”
The last semi-official update on the Smallville revival came back in May when Durance confirmed that it remained in active development behind the scenes. Give all the upheaval going on at Warner Bros. Discovery following the recent merger, it could be a while before the gears start turning at speed, if they even do at all. If it happens, then maybe Rosenbaum will think to mention it to Hartley, who seems keen on the idea.
