A former Superman wants to don the iconic suit again…for the first time.
Tom Welling, who played Clark Kent on Smallville, has made the surprising confession that he would willingly wear the iconic costume for the Robert Pattinson Batman movie, which goes against years of resisting his fame as Superman.
Tom Welling as Clark Kent
When Smallville launched on the WB in 2001, its mantra was “no tights, no flights.” It was to explore the teenage years of Clark Kent and how he grew to learn of his powers en route to becoming Superman.
Notable touches included Clark being best friends with Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and handling a variety of people granted super-powers from the meteorite remains of Krypton that crashed on Earth.
Throughout the ten-season run, the series would integrate scores of DC Comics characters that included a version of the Justice League which was briefly considered for a spin-off. It also had a version of Green Arrow long before the hit CW series.
Yet Welling still resisted donning the iconic costume of Superman. Indeed, the final scene of the series was to show him in the uniform finally, but Welling refused to do more than open up his shirt to show the “S” symbol.
Since then, the actor, known for roles on Lucifer and other TV shows, has appeared reluctant even to discuss his most famous role.
Will Tom Welling return?
Welling’s reluctance to play Superman was showcased when he appeared in the 2019 Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths event.
Instead of playing Superman, Welling only took part of Clark Kent once he’d given up his powers to live the life of a Kansas farmer and father.
This is why it was so surprising when Welling told the El Mundo geek de Ernestoneito channel that he would love to reprise the role in the upcoming Robert Pattinson The Batman movie.
“Yeah, I think that would be cool,” he admitted. “My buddy Rob Pattinson, he is going to be the new Batman. I would love…it would be fun to be the Superman that shows up in his movie, just because he is a friend of mine. Yeah, who knows.”
Can It Happen?
Welling being willing to play the role after so many years is surprising, but perhaps he’s come around to accepting his fame and even regrets never wearing the Superman costume. The fact his appearance as Superman isn’t impossible adds to the thrill of him returning.
It’s speculated that The Batman takes place on Earth-2, an alternate reality from the main DCEU. Smallville used the same concept with Clark briefly going to a world where Lionel Luthor raised him as an evil figure.
It’s also hinted The Flash movie will utilize the DC multiverse, meaning that having Welling play his Clark Kent wouldn’t contradict the established DCEU.
Right now, Welling is working with Rosenbaum to try and create an animated reboot of Smallville, which would presumably gather most of the original cast to continue where the show left off.
DC Comics has published a “Smallville Season 11” comic that introduced Batman and Wonder Woman versions to this universe, but fans debate whether or not it’s canon.
While it seems difficult, having Welling at long last don the full Superman costume on screen would be something to see.
Smallville seasons 1-10 available on Hulu.