10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Smallville
1. The Show Was Nearly Cancelled To Make Way For A Movie
For years, Smallville fans clamoured for Tom Welling to land the Man of Steel gig in Warner Bros. long-gestating new Superman movie in the early-2000s. What those fans maybe didn't realise at the time, is that Welling signing on for that picture would've meant the end of Smallville.
As Welling himself has discussed over the years, he had some serious talks in 2004 about headlining a Superman film that was to be directed by Rush Hour helmer Brett Ratner. Tom flew out to Ratner's LA home, where the pair discussed the reality of Welling signing on to play the big-screen Big Blue Boy Scout.
Things even got to a point where legendary artist Alex Ross was tasked with drawing a couple of mock-ups of Tom Welling in the full Superman garb.
During those talks, the pair both realised that Tom Welling signing on for this Superman picture would've meant that there would be no way Welling could still keep up with the hectic Smallville schedule - meaning the TV show would've had to have been scrapped in order to push forward with the Welling-fronted movie.
From there, Welling opted against any silver screen outing as Supes - instead focusing on Smallville and continuing that show on for a further seven years.
Where that proposed Superman movie is concerned, Ratner would eventually depart the project, the film would become Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, and Ratner would find himself taking over from Singer on X-Men: The Last Stand.