When it was announced that Justin Hartley would be joining the cast of Smallville for its eighth season, fans wondered if appearances from other members of Green Arrow's Justice League could be in the near future.  After all, with Clark buried within the Fortress of Solitude at the end of season 7, someone has to step up to the plate to keep the world safe.  According to TV Guide, Black Canary, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter will all be returning in the season opener to team up with Oliver Queen.  Their mission?  To rescue Clark Kent.

While having a few returning cast members will certainly make for an exciting premiere episode, Smallville's new showrunners are more concerned with allowing Clark (Tom Welling) to begin his evolution into Superman.  Not only will he be taking a job at the Daily Planet and working alongside Lois Lane (Erica Durance), but Clark will also be struggling to find a balance between a life of superheroics and a life of normalcy.  According to one of the men in charge, Kelly Souders, season 8 is all about "double identities.  It's about the Superman identity emerging as Clark Kent tries to maintain a normal life — or the appearance of a normal life."

With Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) out of the picture for much of the upcoming season, Souders hopes that viewers will enjoy seeing more of the famous Lois and Clark dynamic.  "The camaraderie as they work side-by-side that everyone loves from the DC Comics and all the Superman lore is going to come to fruition this year," Souders says.  "The two of them are thrown together in some unfortunate situations for Clark.  She becomes a little bit of an obstacle to him saving the world, when he's on a deadline."

Souders, along with Smallville scribes Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin and Brian Peterson, are taking control of the series now that creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have moved on to other projects.  Fans may be worried about the behind the scenes shake-up, but Souders promises that the new showrunners are still following the path that Gough and Millar laid out.  "Their visions come to us all the time," he says, "so I think they did a great job of preparing us for this day."

Smallville will return to the CW for its eighth season in September.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: TV Guide
(Image courtesy of the CW)