Will Supergirl Have Smallville Star Tom Welling Return as Superman?

Thus far inSupergirl’s first season run, Superman has only been seen in the shadows, with producers teasing that the Man of Steel may appear at some point to help out his less famous cousin. We know that the show has been casting a much youngerKal-Elfor flashback scenes in this first run of episodes. Now, we have word fromSmallville’s very own Clark Kent about the possibility ofTom Wellingreturning to reprise the role of Superman. But it only sounds like wishful thinking at the moment.

Tom Wellingplayed the high school aged Clark Kent on The CW’s Smallville for ten seasons, holding the longest tenure of any Man of Steel thus far. BuzzFeed has a new interview whereTom Wellinglooks back at his long run as Kal-El, the last son ofKrypton, and discussed the possibility of returning to play the role. Here’s what he had to say.

“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 beSuperman…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.”

So, no one has approached the actor to appear on Supergirl in perhaps the biggest roleDC Comicshas to offer. But it’s not beyond the far reaches of what may happen in the near future. Supergirl does have Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’sDean Cainplaying Kara Zor-El’s adoptive dad. And they’ve brought back former Supergirl,Helen Slaterto play Kara’s adoptive step-mom. Even Smallville’s own Supergirl,Laura Vandervoortis set to appear as the villainIndigo.

Tom Wellingisn’t completely opposed to reprising his role as Clark Kent, and he speaks fondly of Smallville. He started playing the role at 24, and since the comic adventure ended its run, he’s mostly stayed out of the limelight with the exception of a few small roles here or there. He went onto speak about how his story arc over the course of ten seasons sort of mirrors 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.”

It’s been said in the past that Supergirl happens in an alternate universe as to the one seen inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceand its upcoming spinoffs. We’ll not likely seeHenry Cavillreprise his role as Superman on CBS soon. Though it’s highly speculated that Kal-El will appear at sometime in the near future, even if it isn’t forSupergirl Season 1. It’s also possible thatTom Wellingwill follow other superhero alumni that has appeared on the show, and play a character that is far removed from the Superman persona. The actor is currently in the midst of developing the dramaSection 13for CBS, so it sounds like he already has a home on the network. What do you think? Do you want to seeTom Wellingreturn as Superman? Or should it be someone new?