For a moment there, it seemed like “Supergirl” might’ve been in trouble. The superhero series launched on CBS, but after strong ratings initially, they fell off and the future of the show seemed questionable. But Warner Bros. Television made a couple of savvy moves to keep Greg Berlanti‘s show going, moving production to Vancouver to save costs, and better yet, shifting it over to The CW, where alongside “Arrow” and “The Flash,” makes for much better company. Now, for the second season, “Supergirl” will be getting a major boost from the Man of Steel.
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Superman — the cousin of Kara Danvers — will show his face in the first two episodes of the second season of “Supergirl.” Previously, he had only been in touch online, seen as a child, and teased in the finale. But now he’ll be appearing in full, and don’t ask who will suit up, because that’s still a question mark at this point.
It’s pretty interesting that at this cultural moment, with comic book movies and TV shows at their peak, that the grandest superhero of them all — Superman — is something of a bit player. On the feature film front, he’s been relegated to a supporting character, with Warner Bros. focused on leveraging Ben Affleck‘s Batman as much as possible. And on the small screen, thus far, he’ll just be stepping in for what I’d imagine is a minor arc in “Supergirl.” But one does have to wonder if WB TV might use this appearance as a stepping stone to launching a new series for Superman. Just a thought…
Let us know who you think should wear the tights in the comments section. [EW]
The big speculation toward who was in the Kryptonian escape pod at the end of the CBS season was leaning heavily on it being Superboy, I wouldn’t be surprised if this news is essentially a confirmation of that (having the same actor play dual roles, where the “bigger” role gets slotted to a “when we need it” cameo while the other becomes a central figure for the season).
It’s interesting news overall though, given that the general belief was that Warner Bros. had intended to keep the big guns off the television projects while they attempted to get the film universe to stand on its own two legs. I guess the creative shake-ups after BvS really were that if they’re willing to let (a version) of Superman make a full appearance on the show.
If they allowed Bruce Wayne (Batman or not) to appear in one of these shows, it would be a slightly bigger deal. But only because of the ordeal Smallville went through many years ago where the creators had intended to include a young Bruce in that show but (allegedly) Warner/DC vetoed it because they felt it would harm the work Nolan was doing with the character in his films. What happened after that was put to bed was a compromise in the form of a female character that was “sort of Bruce Wayne/Batman” but not, running around Metropolis for one episode until she was essentially forgotten by everyone in the show and (most) of its fans.
I would love to see Tom Welling in those tights again and back on the CW!!