Smallville went off the air 14 years ago, but its staying power has been remarkable. The show focused on Clark Kent's journey toward becoming Superman. Its final episode closed with the hero ripping his shirt open to show his signature costume before going off to save the day. It was a fitting end for the story, but fans have been hungry for a continuation. Given the excitement surrounding a possible sequel, Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum got to work on an animated follow-up series.
Since the announcement, however, multiple developments regarding the project have come out that signal it might not be happening soon. Unfortunately, another somewhat disappointing update has come our way. During a Smallville panel featuring a majority of the series' cast at Comic Con Liverpool, the topic of the show's planned revival came up. A fan asked Rosenbaum and Tom Welling how realistic the prospects of a continuation were. Rosenbaum replied:
"We did some artwork and Al [Gough] and Miles [Miller], who created Smallville, they're attached. And Tom [Welling] and I wanna do it, but it's gotta be the right time, when you pitch. And, you know, you have to make sure that the studio is wanting to do something like that right now. So, we wanna get it made, and we plan to use all these guys [the Smallville cast members present] when we get it made. But we don't know when. We don't know when, but it's a work in progress."
Rosenbaum then asked the audience if they'd want to see a Smallville animated series, a question that was met with cheers from fans in attendance.
Look, I feel safe saying I'm speaking for a large majority of the Smallville fandom: This is a continuation that needs to be made. Yes, Smallville closed out the story it was telling, and it did so in a pretty satisfying way (damn near poetic, if I may say so myself). However, its ending was filled to the brim with potential. Audiences spent ten years falling in love with that version of Clark. As such, seeing him suited up and carrying out his adventures as Superman would feel remarkably special, given the long journey viewers took with him to see him become the Man of Steel.
Rosenbaum previously discussed the animated sequel in an episode of Talk Ville, the Smallville rewatch podcast he hosts alongside Tom Welling. During the rewatch of episode 15 of Season 7, "Veritas," Smallville co-creator, Al Gough, suggested (at the 34:00 mark) doing a celebration for the show's upcoming 25th anniversary. Rosenbaum added:
"Why don't we come up with something for the animated series to at least give them a treatment and say, 'Hey, look, this is what we're doing. This is its own entity. It doesn't matter if there's a new Lex, a new Clark. This is Smallville, the series that was on. It's a continuation, five years later, the animated series with all the old voices of all the originals.' I don't know, maybe they'd like that."
Gough responded that Rosenbaum needed to talk to one of his "friends" about it, referencing DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn: "Michael, as you know, the person you need to talk to is one of your friends."
Rosenbaum replied he would see what he could do, but stated he disliked the idea of asking James Gunn for things: "All right, well, I'll see what I can do. I'll see what I can do. I hate to ask him for anything. I don't ask him for anything."
The mention of Gunn stemmed from the fact that the director and the Lex Luthor actor are personal friends. Rosenbaum even appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 as Martinex, a classic Marvel character and a member of the Ravagers in the MCU. Going by Rosenbaum's comments, Smallville's animated sequel is, sadly, still quite far away.
Fortunately, there seems to be enthusiasm from the cast and crew to make it happen, even if it takes some time before it materializes. As such, fans of the show can take comfort in the fact that there's work happening to make it a reality.
All seasons of Smallville is streaming on HBO Max.
What do you think about Rosenbaum's comments regarding the animated Smallville revival? Would you like to see it become a reality? Leave your thoughts in the comments!