Actor Tom Welling was catapulted to fame when he stepped into the shoes of a young Man of Steel years ago, but his popularity hasn’t diminished one bit.  With season 9 of the long-running series Smallville on the horizon, his character will be undergoing major changes.  If his interview with TV Guide is any indication, Clark Kent’s journey towards his destiny is just on the rise.

“Well, in the past Clark has always been the reluctant hero.  Everyone is telling him what he has to do and he doesn’t want to do it,” Tom Welling told the publication.  “[H]e goes to Jor-El and says, ‘I messed up, what do I do now?’  Jor-El takes him in, and Clark starts his training.  His training ultimately is what will prepare him to be who we all know he’s going to be in the future.”

The executive producers of Smallville teased that this season will be darker, and the star of the show has his own thoughts on that as well.  “He’s lost faith in his role with humanity,” Welling said.  “I think he’s lost faith in himself and what he thought he was supposed to do.”

Regarding his decision to return for a tenth season of Smallville, the actor explained how he had to find out what the storyline was before he agreed to it.  There was plenty of discussion involved, but in the end he knew he was committed to something important.

“We have a great group, and I love everybody that’s a part of it,” he claimed.  “Their ideas made sense to me.  What I don’t want to do, and what nobody ever wants for the show they’re on, is for it to dwindle out and lose its credibility.  And I think this season, if anything, we’ve re-energized it.”

Included in that re-energizing process is the introduction of the villainous Zod, who isn’t even that villainous for this season of Smallville.  “I think this season will be about Zod searching for his destiny and why he’s here.  I don’t think he’s necessarily evil off the top, I just think he’s got his own agenda, which he’s trying to figure out. And I don’t think he likes being on Earth too much.”

Still, the upcoming installment will certainly revolve on Clark even more.  “There’s a lot of isolation,” Welling said.  “But then of course, there’s the struggle and the drama pulling him back into these relationships.”

-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of The CW)

Maria Gonzalez

Staff Writer, BuddyTV