For over ten years, Tom Welling captivated the minds of fans worldwide as he brought DC's most iconic son - Superman - to life in the hit superhero drama Smallville. However, ever since the show ended its record-breaking 218-episode run back in May of 2011, Welling took a much-needed break and stepped away from the limelight, only resurfacing to make the occassional appearance in smaller films such as Draft Day, Parkland, and the upcoming Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Choice.
The relatively reserved actor recently sat down with Buzzfeed to reflect about his time on Smallville. Welling, who landed the coveted role at the age of 24, goes into length about getting the part and how Clark's journey on the show helped shape his own journey in life: "There was a lot of growing up I needed to do on that show. Fortunately, Clark had no idea what the hell he was doing and I had no idea what the hell I was doing, We kind of grew up together." Welling also spoke a bit on the current state of superhero television, something he's very happy about: "It’s a compliment, I’m very proud of shows like Arrow [and] The Flash. … They’re able to ground these characters so that the viewer can relate on a human level to people who used to be only in two dimensions.”
Speaking of current superhero shows, ever since the inception of CBS' hit superhero drama Supergirl, fans have been clamoring for an appearance from Kara's legendary cousin, the Man of Steel and with Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice) unlikely to appear due to his ongoing committments to the DC Extended Universe, it's only natural to wonder whether Welling, the longest tenured actor to ever portray the character, would be interested in returning to his career-defining role. Welling's answer didn't make the final piece, but Jarett Wieselman, who conducted the interview, shared Welling's response on Twitter:
"There's people who would like it... there's people who don't like it, but I will tell you that no one has ever actually asked me to do it. So, I don't know. It would be kind of odd. I don't know who he is at that point. He would obviously be Superman..."
Well, there you have it, Welling hasn't even been contacted... at least not yet that is.
Oddly enough, Welling not being contacted shares a small similarity with the story of another Smallville star. Last summer at Comic-Con, Laura Vandervoort (Bitten), who portrayed Supergirl, strongly suggested that she would be making an appearance on the series, but later clarified by saying that wasn't the case and that she only meant that she would love to make an appearance at some point. The story was seemingly dropped, but then a few months later, it was announced that Vandervoort had signed on for a recurring role to play Indigo.
If we're lucky, there's a fairly decent chance CBS could eventually strike a similar deal with Welling to make at least one appearance as Clark Kent in an episode of Supergirl or in a potential worst-case scenario as a different character. To add more fuel to the fire, Welling is coincidentally in the midst of developing a new hour-long drama, titled Section 13, for CBS. If CBS greenlights the intriguing-sounding pilot, there's somewhat of a better chance that Welling returns the favor by guest-starring on Supergirl. Fingers-crossed!
Section 13 is a project Welling created, developed, executive produced, and will star in if CBS picks up the pilot. Its logline reads "a CIA black ops officer-turned-private contractor who, after a personal tragedy, joins a covert organization devoted to carrying out the most difficult and dangerous high-stakes assignments."
The whole interview is a compelling read, so be sure to head over HERE to read the full-length piece.
So, what do you guys think? How excited would you be if Welling returned as Clark Kent and/or Superman? Sound off with your thoughts below!