The CW’s Superman & Lois is set to release its third season later tonight at 8:00pm EST. According to Screenrant and Entertainment Weekly, season three has a lot to offer fans as this show loosely deviates from the Arrowverse through Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s newest conflicts. It is plausible that there would be action packed events to highlight the next big villain of the show.
This show is loosely tied with Supergirl, a CW show that aired form 2015-2021. Both of those shows are part of the broader Arrowverse DC continuity established by the CW show, Arrow, in 2012 and followed up with CW’s The Flash. Superman & Lois takes place in an alternative continuity loosely related to but not a part of the Arrowverse. This current season is still headed by Todd Helbing (The Flash, Spartacus) and Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Love, Simon) who also serve as the main writers and executive producers.
This third season takes place a couple of weeks after the events of the season two finale of Superman & Lois. This third season has Tyler Hoechlin (Road to Perdition, Teen Wolf) return as Superman/Clark Kent, Elizabeth Tulloch (Grim, The Artist) as Lois Lane, Michael Bishop (Grace Beside Me, Spin) as Jonathan Kent, and Alex Garfin (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, New Amsterdam) as Jordan Kent.
Besides revealing Chad L. Coleman (The Wire, The Walking Dead) as Bruno Mannheim, fans might be in for an even bigger treat. After waiting for approval and the greenlight, the CW will finally introduce Superman’s archnemesis into the show. This latest reveal is none other than Lex Luthor himself played by Michael Cudlitz (Southland, The Walking Dead). According to Screenrant, this will be the third iteration of the character on the CW. This comes after Michael Rosenbaum’s (Smallville, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) portrayal in Smallville and Jon Cryer’s (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Supergirl) in Supergirl.
Helbig said in an interview, “We got permission. 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. We were super, super fortunate and excited to have Michael Cudlitz [who is playing Lex.].” via. Screenrant.
This comes after Bishop took over the mantle as Jonathan Kent after previous actor, Jordan Elsass, (The Long Road Home, Little Fires Everywhere) departed two months after the season two finale last year. According to TVLine, he left due to personal reasons for pursuing acting in general. This latest event also highlights the uncertain future for the Arrowverse as whole. According to skeptics, the entire lineup has been shaken due to various reasons which led to a decrease in overall quality. Many draw a comparison to earlier seasons of another CW Dc adaptation, The Flash, then comparing its later seasons in terms of writing, story, effects, and enjoyment.
Nevertheless, the network is diversifying its lineup with more shows on the way, including the premiere of Gotham Knights, a show about an adopted son of Bruce Wayne who teams up with the children of his former enemies to solve Bruce Wayne’s murder. That show is slated to come out right after the first episode of Superman & Lois season three premiere titled “Closter”.
When speaking with EW, Helbig had this to say regarding the villains and how they pose a threat like never before to Superman, “Our objective is always to present a “villain,” really more of an antagonist than a mustache-twirling villain, in a way that you may not agree with what they do, but maybe you understand their point of view. I’m excited for everyone to see Chad Coleman [in the role]. At first blush, you may lump him into something, but as you get to know him, you’re surprised, and you start to understand some of his decisions — some are really bad, some are very evil, but some are really good. He’s a complicated person, like all of us, and we’re really proud of what the story is with him.”
Many fans are excited to see how this would develop, especially after the trailer released a while back showcased the hardships of life at home. This new season will air on the CW at 8:00pm EST ahead of Gotham Knights. You can watch the most recent trailer for Superman & Lois below.