Introducing a new version of Superman for television when there’s already one flying in blockbuster movies is a daunting task that The CW’s Supergirl looks determined to pull off. Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg promises that their Clark Kent, played by Tyler Hoechlin, will be more traditional and optimistic, especially compared to the DCEU version played by Henry Cavill in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Though Superman was teased through several references throughout the show’s first season on CBS, Kara Danvers’ (Melissa Benoist) more popular cousin will finally make his on-screen appearance when the series returns later this year in October. However, the Superman we’ll see in the DC TV series has been fighting crime and saving the day (as well as reporting the news) for more than a decade, in sharp contrast to Cavill’s rookie years in the current Warner Bros. films.
“I think our take on him is probably something a little bit more traditional,” said Kreisberg in an interview with Collider. He adds:
There's certainly a little bit of the “Aw shucks” about him, but he's been Superman for awhile, so there's a savviness about him as Superman and as Clark. If he's been Superman for 12 years, that also means that he's been Clark Kent for 12 years. He knows how to interview somebody. He knows how to get a story out of someone.
Kreisberg clarifies that while they’re aiming for a more classic Superman, they also looked to other non-comic book versions for inspiration:
As always, with any of these things, we're never doing a direct adaptation of a specific comic book. We cherry pick the best parts and things that we love. So, there's a little bit of the Christopher Reeve Superman in there, a healthy dose of the Superman animated series, which we're huge fans of, a little bit of Lois & Clark, a little George Reeves, and a little Super Friends.
He then shares their excitement at finding the right actor to take on the role, which they did with Teen Wolf star Tyler Hoechlin:
And as far as finding the right guy, as soon as we said we were going to do Superman, Greg [Berlanti] mentioned Tyler [Hoechlin]. We've been fans of his for years, and when we sat down with him, he is Superman. Not just with the looks, but he's such a good guy, such a nice guy, and he's so open and forthright and brimming with life. You just feel better when you're around him, which I think is part of the secret of Superman. He is that ideal, but not in an unattainable way. Superman should make you feel like you can do anything, even though he's the one that can do anything. And Tyler just had all that in spades. So, it was less a question of us reaching out. It was more a question of hoping he would say yes. After Tyler, I'm not sure what we would have done.
With this brighter take on Superman, in addition to the debuts of superheroes like Miss Martian (Sharon Leal) and Mon-El (Christopher Wood), Supergirl may very well earn a new legion of fans once the show returns for its second season on October 10, 2016.
