For years, a growing contingent of
Smallville fans have called for the small-screen's young Man of Steel to don the blue tights, if not on the show, then in a big screen effort. So far, there has been nothing but disappointment. With the recent news that Brandon Routh will not be appearing the
Justice League America movie, instead waiting out a
Superman sequel with Bryan Singer, it looks like
Smallville fans please may finally be heard.
IESB is reporting that
Tom Welling has been rumored to be cast as
Superman in the
Justice League America film that will begin shooting shortly. The live action film will feature a host of superheroes joining forces with Superman as their leader to battle superhuman threats. If the rumor is true, Tom Welling would finally be wearing the infamous blue tights.
Apparently, inquiries made to Welling's reps resulted in a shuffle and the confirmation has yet to come through. The optimistic may look at this diversion as near admission that the rumor is true. The pessimists, on the other hand, might look at this as the negotiations are still in progress.
One potential wrinkle is the fact that
Justice League America's filming schedule overlaps
Smallville's. For how long and when, we don't know for sure, but the point is
Smallville would have to accommodate the film by either shooting Clark/Welling's scenes in a clump at the end of this big screen duties, or writing in a plausible absence for Clark that could run as long as 4-6 episodes.
The benefits for
Smallville far outweigh any convenience that these accommodations may cause. However, it remains to be seen if fans can recover from seeing Clark make the evolution to Superman on the big screen and then return to the confines of Clark, sans tights, on
Smallville. It has often been said that Clark wearing the tights would be the end of
Smallville since a line would be crossed. Would the same be true if that line is crossed on the big screen in a tangential project?
- Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: IESB
(Image Anonymous)