SDCC: Smallville Screening and Q&A

July 27, 2008 on 1:59 pm | In San Diego Comic Con, TV |

It’s kids day here at San Diego Comic Con, but the many panels are still going on throughout the day for the older crowd. One of the first panels of the day was the ever-popular Smallville screening and panel. Jeph Loeb took the stage to thunderous applause as the lights dimmed. “You are the reason why this show is on for eight seasons,” said Loeb. “You are truly the best fans in the world.” Jeph Loeb introduced the star-studded panel which included series veterans Allison Mack and Justin Hartley, newcomers Sam Witwer and Cassidy Freeman, and showrunners Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer.

Although this announcement came nearer to the middle of the panel, it’s just that important. Superstar DC writer Geoff Johns has signed on to write an episode of Smallville! This season, Johns will be writing an episode introducing the amazing Legion of Super Heroes.

The screening turned out to be a never-before sneak peak of season eight. The trailer began with, “Every journey has a beginning” and showed iconic clips from the first season of Smallville: Kal-El as a baby being launched from Krypton and Martha and Jonathan Kent finding the baby Kryptonian. “Every boy becomes a man” showcased all of Clark’s powers. “Every man will fall in love” showed clips of his star-crossed romance with Lana Lang. “Every hero discovers his destiny” showcased the creation of the Fortress of Solitude, Clark’s battle with Lex, and the introduction of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Green Arrow, the Justice League, and the Phantom Zone. “Every hero says goodbye” showed Jonathan’s death, and Martha’s exit from the series, and Lex leaving Clark at the graveyard. Finally, “but every hero has a future…” We are introduced to Tess Mercer, see Clark getting beat up in Russia, Chloe saying she’s not special while battling to get away from an assailant. The clips teased more Justice League, Chloe and Jimmy together, and Clark and Lois together at the daily planet. We also saw Green Arrow shooting Clark. Finally, the teaser ended with a S-pendant in Clark’s hand, and a close up on Sam Witwer with a voice over saying, “There’s something out there, and whatever it is, it can kill you.”

Allison Mack mentioned that Tom Welling and Erica Durance wanted to be at the panel, but were busy with filming. An ovation was also given to the writers of Smallville who were present in the crowd. The panel then opened it up to the audience for questions. The first audience question concerned the “No tights, no flights’ mantra of comic books. The creative team mentioned that they are “going to hold to the no tights part of that.” The next questions revealed that the origin of Green Arrow would be revealed sometime during this season, as well as new details about Sam Witwer’s character, Doomsday. “His name is Davis Bloom, paramedic, really nice guy, and eventually he’s going to start blacking out and losing time, and what he finds out…it’s not great,” said Witwer. “Eventually the character will have to deal with that. This guy is actually a really, really nice guy.” Later when asked about villains, Witwer said, “Lex was a great villain, but he couldn’t kill Superman.” Cassidy Freeman also spoke about her character, Tess.”Tess is kind of Miss Mystery. You’re going to find out her backstory. She’s the new girl at LuthorCorp and nobody knows why; but she is and I think she’ll find an inner strength within her self to run this company.”
One of the most disappointing news for fans was the news that Michael Rosenbaum was leaving Smallville. Brian Peterson explained the situation. “Obviously Michael Rosenbaum is one of the best actors,” he said. “You definitely haven’t heard the last of Lex. The door is open to Michael Rosenbaum when he’s done going out and pursing his other endeavors.”
One of the fans was so well-dressed as Green Arrow, that Allison Mack and Justin Hartley took out digital cameras and said they would show them to the costume designer of Smallville. The Green Arrow lookalike was invited to show off his costume and his moves in front of the panel. The panel was then asked about whether the Smallville Justice League will make another appearance. Kelly Souders teased, “I will say watch the premiere episode of the season. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you’re a Justice fan.” Brian Peterson teased a possible crossover with Supernatural by saying, “I can’t confirm or deny anything right now.” If you’re looking for more characters, the creative team mentioned that DC has been great about working with them in order to open the door for a lot of new characters.

Check out the new season of Smallville, premiering this fall on the CW network.