By Travis Johnson
We have met the superman, and he’s a werewolf. The big news today is that Teen Wolf‘s Tyler Hoechlin has been cast as Superman in the CW’s Supergirl series. While Superman has been a background presence in Supergirl over the course of the first season – he and Supergirl IM each other, which is pretty adorable – this marks the first time the Man of Steel’s role in the Berlantiverse has been concretised.
“Greg [Showrunner Greg Berlanti] and I have wanted to work with Tyler for ages, so this worked out perfectly because Tyler is Superman,” said Supergirl Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg. “We are so thrilled and humbled to add another amazing actor to the legacy of this iconic character.”
Interestingly, this flies in the face of Warner/DC’s long-held (since the end of Smallville, anyway) edict against using A-listers like Superman and Batman on the small screen, preferring to reserve the big hitters in their stable for the movies. Is this in reaction to the relatively poor fan and critical reaction to Superman’s portrayal in Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice? More importantly, does it open the door for Bats to crop up in DC TV – maybe to give Arrow‘s Ollie Queen a hard time for stealing his schtick? Doubtful, with the Affleck-directed Batman movie on the horizon, but we can dream.
This news is perfectly timed for Australian fans, who can see Hoechlin in the flesh at Supanova Sydney this weekend, and Supanova Perth the following. Someone, please, get a Superman S-Symbol shirt onto him, stat – at a guess, he looks like an L.
