When news broke out that Superman was coming to CW’s Supergirl series, fans immediately tipped Smallville actor Tom Welling to reprise the role of his red-caped character.
However, the actor revealed he didn’t want to portray Superman on The CW show, according to an interview Entertainment Weekly.
“I know Greg [Berlanti, executive producer] quite well and there had been some discussion, but they’re different worlds,” Welling said. “There was an idea that maybe Supergirl, appearing on that, but it’s such a different show. I’m older now, I don’t look the same. Appearing on that show as Clark Kent or even Superman, for me, I would not want to watch me do that at all. They just have such a different tone.”
In what has become a normal thing in the DC series universe, most actors and actresses from a superhero franchise will appear in any followup franchises. Like how Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher from The Adventures of Lois and Clark have both appeared on Smallville and Supergirl at one point or the other in the respective series.
Tom Welling, however, turned down the chance to appear in any of The CW’s DC Comics-based TV shows.
He is instead returning to a different part of the universe when he plays an antagonistic role on FOX’s Lucifer, based on the Vertigo comic.
“To me, because this is still even a DC Universe, which wasn’t a consideration in the beginning, but Lucifer is still DC, so in some ways it’s one foot in, one foot out, but it wasn’t a motivator for me to join the show,” Welling said. “It just so happens that it was connected in that way.”
Supergirl premieres Monday, October 9th, at 8/7c, on The CW.