Tom Welling Shares Big 2025 Update on ‘Smallville’ Sequel Amid DC TV Reboot Delay

It has been more than 14 years since Smallville ended its 10-season run, but the show is still remembered as one of the most beloved Superman stories ever put on television. Starring Tom Welling as Clark Kent and Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor, the series ran from 2002 to 2011 and gave fans a long, detailed look at Superman’s early years.

For a while now, Welling and Rosenbaum have been trying to bring the world of Smallville back. Instead of a live-action return, the plan is for an animated sequel series, picking up right where the original story left off.

Both actors have said they want the original cast to return and voice their characters. They’ve also been working with Smallville’s original creators, Al Gough and Miles Millar, to make sure the new project feels like the show fans remember.

The animated sequel has been in development for a few years, but there’s a problem, it hasn’t even been pitched to Warner Bros. Discovery yet. According to the team, the timing just hasn’t been right. DC Studios, now run by James Gunn and Peter Safran, is focused on building the new DC Universe, starting with a brand-new Superman movie coming in 2025. That means other Superman-related projects are on hold.

Welling talked about the situation during a recent episode of Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, the podcast Rosenbaum hosts. When Rosenbaum asked if he thought Smallville could ever come back, Welling admitted he wasn’t too optimistic. “It just doesn’t seem like our show is the type of show where that would happen,” he said. “I’m smiling and saying it will probably never happen. But I love the idea!”

Rosenbaum and Welling have said before that they want Gough and Millar fully involved. The creators also addressed the delay themselves. Gough explained, “The problem with most projects in development in any studio and/or any network is regime change. Warners has obviously gone through a lot, and I think the fact that they are in the process of rebooting Superman again, kind of unfortunately, I think, keeps our thing off the table for a bit.” He pointed out that trends come back eventually, joking, “Everything comes around in one form or another. I just read the other day that they are rebooting Buffy for Hulu.”

Rosenbaum has also said in past interviews that right now is one of the worst possible times to pitch this project. Warner Bros. recently canceled ‘Superman & Lois’ TV show to avoid clashing with the new movie, which shows how cautious they’re being with anything Superman-related.

So while the animated Smallville sequel is still alive, it’s stuck in limbo. The team is waiting for the right time to make their move, and for the DC reboot dust to settle. Until then, fans will just have to keep hoping for Clark Kent’s return in animated form.

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