I’m realizing that James Gunn’s Superman has a pretty good chance of being the closest thing we might ever get to Smallville season 11 in live-action. The first live-action movie in the new DC Universe, 2025’s Superman promises to be an inspiring new era for the Man of Steel. However, I do think that there’s going to be some shared DNA with the classic Smallville series that aired on the CW and its intended future (which is by no means a bad thing).

2001’s Smallville ran for 10 seasons, detailing Clark Kent’s high school years and young adult life as he developed his powers, formed key relationships, and gradually shaped the kind of hero he wanted to be when he was finally ready to don the cape and become Superman. An iconic show that would later help kick off the CW’s entire DC Arrowverse of shows, the future of Smallville’s universe was detailed in Smallville Season 11 comics, and there have even been proposals to develop an animated revival series. However, I do believe that James Gunn’s Superman will essentially fill the “Smallville Season 11” void on the big screen.

James Gunn’s Superman Won’t Be An Origin Story

But Clark Kent Will Still Be Figuring Out The Job

As seen in the trailers and confirmed by director James Gunn himself, Superman will not be a typical superhero origin story. Instead, David Corenswet’s Clark Kent/Kal-El will have been the Man of Steel for some time already, though still early on in his career as Superman in the DCU. This is not unlike Matt Reeves’ The Batman which saw Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in his second year as The Dark Knight.

What this means is that Superman will already be an established public figure in the DCU when the new movie begins, and Clark Kent will already be working at The Daily Planet in Metropolis. It’s also been confirmed that Superman will have already started a relationship with Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane (also in the early stages). That said, it has been confirmed that Superman will still be trying to reconcile his alien heritage as a Kryptonian with his human upbringing in Kansas.

The New Superman Will Have A Few Things In Common With Smallville Season 11

There Will Undoubtedly Be Some Key Similarities

Keeping all that in mind, it’s easy to draw a comparison to the ending of Smallville and the subsequent Smallville Season 11 comic series. After all, the CW show ended with Tom Welling’s Clark Kent suiting up and ready to officially save the day as Superman for the first time (though he’d long been a hero previously, both at home in Smallviell and elsewhere as his powers were developing). Smallville Season 11 also details Superman in the early days of his career as his typical status quo from the original comics finally starts solidifying.

James Gunn’s Superman looks to be sharing a similar setting, as Corenswet’s Man of Steel is similarly an established hero but is still finalizing certain parts of his own status quo in the DCU. This includes Superman’s rivalry with Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. Based on the trailers, it does look like Luthor has been harboring a grudge against Superman for quite some time. It’s also worth mentioning that his company in the DCU is called LuthorCorp rather than LexCorp in the comics, just like in Smallville before Rosenbaum’s Luthor had the name changed by the series’ end. Perhaps the DCU’s Lex will do the same.

Could This Be A Reason Why The Animated Smallville Series Is On Hold?

The First Live-Action DCU Movie Needs To Be The Focus For Superman

It’s recently been reported that Smallville actors Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum have pitched an animated Smallville revival series to DC Studios. However, they’ve yet to hear back in terms of any kind of green light. An animated series does sound fascinating and very entertaining, and the DCU does have confirmed room for Elseworlds stories beyond their main continuity.

I do think it’s likely that DC is currently holding off due to the simple fact that Gunn’s Superman will end up being too similar to the proposed Smallville series, especially considering the setting. Given the pressure to make sure Superman is a success to then kick off an entire brand-new connected universe of films, shows, and more, it does make sense that DC Studios wouldn’t necessarily want to compete with itself. Perhaps a Smallville reality series will become a reality one day, but I really don’t see it happening anytime soon, at least not in the next couple of years.

Superman releases in theaters on July 11th from DC Studios.

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