While there are many threats that Superman and Lois Lane face in Superman & Lois Season 3, this upcoming season premiering March 14 is the first time that we will see them face Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor on The CW television series. KryptonSite was able to speak with Season 3 showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher for an extended interview that will run before Tuesday’s season premiere; but first, we’re sharing their thoughts about what made now the right time to bring in this formidable foe.
So, how did it come about?
“We got permission,” Todd Helbing laughs, before talking mor about why this didn’t happen before. “We wanted to tackle some different villains and sort of separate ourselves a little bit, but we felt like as soon as we could get Lex, to bring him in, he’s the villain. He is Superman’s guy, and when we finally got permission to use him, we came up with a take, and everybody at DC and Warner Brothers and The CW were stoked with what we are going to try to do,” he continues.
“We were super, super fortunate and excited to have Michael Cudlitz [who is playing Lex],” he adds.
“The thing with Luthor is, he’s such an iconic character that even people who aren’t familiar with comics know Lex Luthor, so for us, the challenge is how to put our own stamp on it,” Brent Fletcher says. “And I think that’s why we were able to get Luthor – we had to take that’s different in terms of what you’ve seen in live action.” This take also seems to be what drew Michael Cudlitz to the character that he fully understood, which felt like it would make him a great foil for the show”s Superman. It also made him an interesting fit chemistry-wise with the already established cast. “Honestly, we couldn’t be more excited about that, when the time comes to unleash him on the world.”
Recent Lex Luthor live-action actors that we’ve seen include Jon Cryer (who Helbing says “did an amazing job on Supergirl“) and Titus Welliver (on Titans), both of whom were bald but sported beards. Will this Lex Luthor be bald and clean shaven?
“We can’t tell you that right off the bat! We want people to guess,” Fletcher says. “It’s a good question, but I feel like that would be a spoiler that we can’t give away quite yet,” he adds, offering that whatever look he has, it honors the previous takes on Lex. “When you see this Lex Luthor, we feel like he’s going to be one of the Lex Luthors to talk about for generations to come. We’re really proud of Cudlitz and what he’s doing with him.”
Finally, was the Superman & Lois team hoping that casting of Lex Luthor would remain a secret and that people wouldn’t find out prior to the start of th w new season?
“Ideally, yes, it would have been a scenario where [the audience is] watching the episode where he shows up for the first time and it’s a surprise, but I think it’s unrealistic to[expect] that. We try to keep as much information secret as we can, but you know some of the stuff is gonna leak. But hopefully, the heart of the story of who he is, won’t,” Helbing says.
“You’re fighting two dynamics, because we don’t want to spoil the fun of the surprise for people that have been watching, but we also genuinely love the show and want to expand the tent, and want more people to see what we’re doing. If the carrot of Lex Luthor brings a couple more people in, we want them there. We think they’ll be happy when they come and see what we’re going to do with him,” Brent Fletcher promises.
Follow @KryptonSite on Twitter for updates on when more Superman & Lois Season 3 interview material comes out and be sure to watch the season premiere Tuesday, March 14 on The CW! Do be aware it may not be until well into Season 3 before we see Lex, but there’s a lot of good material planned to tide us over until then!