Things are really heating up on Smallville and that heat was definitely felt in the room during the show’s Comic-Con panel on Sunday. There wasn’t a vacant chair in the room, and with the whole cast appearing – including Tom Welling who has never appeared at Comic-Con – the crowd was in high spirits.
The panel began with a never-before-seen sneak peek trailer for season 9 which included scenes with The Green Arrow, Black Canary, Impulse, Cyborg, Zatania, Martian Manhunter, Supergirl, The Legion, Chloe as The Watchtower, and a very steamy Lois and Clark love scene, oh my. Hold on to your capes Smallville fans because it’s going to be one hell of a ride!
Allison Mack (Chloe) will be taking control of our heroes as the Watchtower and she couldn’t be more excited to do it. “I get to tell all these big guys what to do, it’s great!” Justin Hartley’s take on Watchtower is simple: “I like being told what to do” (cue fan-girl screams). Not only will Chloe get to tell the whole cast what to do, but so will Mack as she will be directing another episode this season.
Tom Welling discussed his roles as not only an actor, but also behind the camera as producer and director. He described it as “Feeding one mouth with two hands” and says that it is a lot of work, but he feels very lucky that he has the opportunity to do it. Mack backs him up, praising his directing abilities. “He is so in tune with the show and with the characters and it is so easy to take direction from him.” Welling is set to direct two episodes of season 9.
One of the hot topics of the panel was “What about Lois?” The crowd wanted to see more Erica Durance. Producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson were happy to inform us that Erica will be in 18 episodes next season. Does this mean things are going to finally start heating up between Lois and Clark? Is anything ever that easy? Durance said that all the things we have been waiting for, we will see a little bit of in season 9. Lois is dealing with her feelings for Superman, but is growing increasingly annoyed with Clark.
Callum Blue joined the panel for the first time this year and discussed a bit about his role as General Zod. Blue said he’s having such fun on the show. “I’m loving playing an evil character.” It’s still very new, and he is still breaking the character in, but he was very excited to be offered the part. Judging by audience reaction they are also very excited at the inclusion of Zod in the next season.
The floor was opened to questions from the audience, which is always a doorway to unexpected moments. The panel had questions from Batman, small children, international viewers, fan-girls and even by a Superman who assured Welling the spandex is actually pretty comfortable. One girl asked Welling “What is the most exciting thing that has happened to you [on the show], and can you make it long so that you can keep looking at me?” and Welling answered her slowly, never taking his eyes off of her. Lucky, lucky girl.
The one thing that is absolutely obvious when looking at this panel is that they all love working with each other and they work with each other so well. Everybody up there, including the producers was genuinely excited to be moving into where the story is going with season 9. “This isn’t just a show about a boy on a farm,” said Mack “It’s about so much more that can relate to what’s really going on in the world.”
The turn out for the panel was astounding, not just the fans but all the writers and post-production crews and producers all came out in support. There weren’t enough seats to seat them all. It was great to see just how proud everybody is of the hard work they put into making the show. I think I speak for all of us when I say if they keep putting in the hard work we will continue to support them. Smallville moves to Fridays this fall and don’t forget the complete season 8 will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on August 25.
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-Christi Kassity, BuddyTV Guest Writer
(Image courtesy of Christi Kassity)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
