Jeannot Szwarc, who first dipped into the world of all things Super with the 1984 Supergirl movie and later served as director for over a dozen episodes of Smallville, has passed away, as revealed by an article at The Daily Jaws website. He was 85 years old.

Szwarc had a long list of credits to his name, including the film Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve, Jaws 2, episodes of The Rockford Files, Heroes, Supernatural and more. For Smallville, he seemed to be beloved by the cast, who all would often imitate his unmistakable accent when reminiscing about him. His first episode of Smallville came in Season 3 with the episode “Perry” which introduced Michael McKean as Perry White; later stories he would direct included “Velocity,” “Spell,” “Recruit,” “Blank,” “Exposed,” “Vengeance,” “Reunion,” “Noir,” “Bride,” “Kandor,” “Kent,” and the show’s 200th episode, “Homecoming.” Interestingly, he did not direct any episodes with Supergirl in them, despite being the director of that movie. His final credited directing job came with a 2019 episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

Our condolences go out to his friends, family, colleagues, and everyone who had been touched by his thoughtful work. Our thanks and appreciation go out to Derek Russell from SHoE (the Internet’s first Smallville podcast!) for the tip.

Derek Russell of the Super House of El podcast (originally Starkville’s House of El or SHoE, also known as The First Smallville Podcast Ever) had Smallville writer Bryan Q. Miller on for a “Getting Superman Right” episode, ostensibly to respond to the trailer for the upcoming James Gunn film, but soon pivoting toward Miller’s experience in playing with the Super-toys himself, including some major milestones for Clark and Lois.

A big surprise in the podcast, though, is the reveal that Smallville Season 10 almost had a “female Justice League” episode where Lois (Erica Durance), Kara (Laura Vandervoort), Zatanna, and Jayna of the Wonder Twins team up to save the day. The writers began breaking the episode during the first half of Smallville Season 10. “Being able to put those characters together that we had played with individually was a lot of fun, and it went away,” Miller said.

Why didn’t it happen?

There were several factors, including the notion that part of the episode hinged on why these characters had to come together, and as it turned out, the Season 10 episode “Collateral” had a similar premise with characters out of commission. “Ultimately, there was no time,” Bryan lamented.

There was a female hero team-up of sorts for Miller in his Smallville Season 11 comic story “Valkyrie” which also brought back Lana. But, alas, this will just have to end up as one of the Greatest Smallville Stories Never Told.

Give SHoE’s podcast with guest Bryan Q. Miller a listen here!

Creation Entertainment has announced that Aaron Ashmore will be returning for the second “Salute to Smallville” convention which will be happening September 13-14, 2025 at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

Fans enjoyed meeting the actor who brought us Henry — er, Jimmy Olsen at the October 2024 event and the second time around should be even more exciting. Autographs and photo opportunities with Aaron can be purchased before the convention here. Right now, Creation has only listed the high-tier Gold Passes for sale, but other tiers will become available. Purchase your ticket and if there’s any way to say so, tell them KryptonSite sent you!

The first “Salute to Smallville” convention was a fantastic experience for all involved. It was a chance for some fandom friends to connect, to see your favorite actors, and to be around like-minded individuals who enjoyed that “leafy little hamlet” from back in the day all through the present. There was positive energy everywhere, and the cast and the event hosts (one of whom is writing this article) had just as much fun as the audience did. Picture this: A weekend full of Smallville, surrounded by people who also like Smallville, and the actors who brought Smallville to life.

Current other guests already signed for the 2025 event include Tom Welling (Clark), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex), Erica Durance (Lois), Kristin Kreuk (Lana), and Alaina Huffman (Black Canary) with more surely to come!

DISCLAIMER: KryptonSite’s webmaster Craig Byrne served as a host for the 2024 event alongside Derek Russell of the Super House of El podcast; Craig has also produced some websites for Creation Entertainment including their Salute to Smallville page, which would explain why it kind of looks familiar!