The Superman prequels just keep on coming.
For ten years, The CW documented Clark Kent’s teenage life in Smallville and this year, Syfy will follow that up by diving into his home planet’s history in Krypton. Now, we’re hearing that DC’s upcoming digital streaming service is also working on a Superman prequel of its own.
Titled Metropolis, the series will sidestep the Man of Steel and instead focus on his future love interest Lois Lane as she and a surprise partner (Lex Luthor) set about investigating the bizarre occurrences happening across the city. Here’s how Variety, who broke the news, describes it:
“Metropolis – is set in the famous comic book city before the arrival of Superman. It will follow Lois Lane and Lex Luthor as they investigate the world of fringe science and expose the city’s dark and bizarre secrets.”
Apparently, DC is fast-tracking the show, which has received a 13 episode order for its debut season, as it’s going before cameras later this year with an eye for a 2019 release. Variety also reveals that the project was initially in the works at Fox where it was to be a companion show to Gotham.
From what we can gather, it sounds like Metropolis will be a bit like a DC version of The X-Files with Lois and Lex in the Mulder and Scully roles. It also seems like the show will once again explore what turned Luthor to the dark side, much like Smallville did with Michael Rosenbaum’s version.
Metropolis marks the fourth new project set to arrive on DC’s digital service, which so far boasts a line-up that includes Titans, Young Justice: Outsiders and the Harley Quinn animated series. It’ll no doubt be a great addition to the roster and with things moving along quickly, we should learn more about what’s in store in no time at all.
As always, watch this space for further updates.