Clark Kent is sticking around for Smallville's upcoming ninth season, but will the show's original Lex Luthor ever return? Sources are telling our friends at Airlock Alpha that the writers of Smallville want to bring Michael Rosenbaum back for season nine.
Rosenabuam left the show last May after seven seasons as the villainous Luthor. Rumors about the actor returning to the show have been floating around the Internet for months. This season, a stand-in whose voice and face were altered and hidden by a high tech-looking breathing mask – a la Darth Vader – appeared as Lex Luthor in a few episodes. The character apparently died in an explosion in the Feb. 5 episode "Requim," but that doesn't mean he won't reappear on the show, especially if Rosenbaum agrees to reprise the role.
I'd love to see Rosenbaum return to Smallville. He always brought a slick sophistication to the role of Lex Luthor that stood in sharp contrast to Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey's goofy performances in the Superman movies. Smallville has been doing very well, creatively and in the ratings, without Rosenbaum and show creators Al Gough and Miles Millar. Since their departures, Smallville has felt fresh and fun, but I think Rosenbaum's return could only help the show at this point. He was always one of Smallville's greatest assets.
One question that Rosenbaum's possible return raises is: Does Smallville have room for two big bads? Will Sam Witwer's Doomsday/Davis Bloom be shown the door if Rosenbaum comes back?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-02-2009 @ 12:36PM
Wii60 said...
I think what was most telling about season 8 is that Rosenbaums great portrayal of Lex Luther was eclipsed only by the sheer ear rape that was Lana Lang.
It provided a net gain, and we need another equalizer to get rid of the taste of Lana's recent arc.
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3-02-2009 @ 12:49PM
Clayton said...
What is this, Days of Our Lives? How many times must a character die on Smallville until they are actually dead?
Yes, I am aware that Lex Luthor never died at that age. He was alive to challenge Superman bla bla bla bla.
I've really liked this current season. But please, let dead characters rest in peace, especially after you've killed them more than once!
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3-02-2009 @ 1:01PM
Edward said...
Season 9 will have new show runners as well.
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3-02-2009 @ 1:13PM
Adrian said...
I wont mind if Lex comes back and kills Lana
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3-02-2009 @ 1:13PM
Mike Moody said...
but then we'd have to see Lana again! Maybe the death can happen offscreen.
3-02-2009 @ 1:44PM
Adrian said...
Yeah totally offscreen would work but I wouldnt mind seeing her one more time if it meant her getting killed.
3-02-2009 @ 2:00PM
Scott said...
Rosenbaum was a big asset for the show, and he definitely would be again. They're down to very few believable actors at this point--Allison Mack (and to some extent Justin Hartley and Sam Witwer) is pretty much it. The rest of the regulars act like they're auditioning for the high school play version of "Smallville".
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3-02-2009 @ 6:16PM
0megapart!cle said...
I will never understand the hatred of Lana. Yea, the "Will they or won't they" got old after awhile. But Kristin Kreuk is one of the best actors on the show, and Kreuk and Welling have some of the best chemistry on the show.
The bottom line is, the show benefited greatly from her recent return, it certainly wasn't hurt by it.
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3-02-2009 @ 11:38PM
Andy said...
This is your story? That the writers want him to come back??? Stop the presses!
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3-25-2009 @ 2:16AM
Kylie said...
They are actually down in ratings. So that is probably why they are floating this rumor.
If he did not come back at all this year, I cannot see why he would return next year. He was my favorite character in previous seasons.
The drop in rating is telling since the show that follows Smallville is up. That shows people are deliberatly skipping the show. The one before is usually the lead in.
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Seattle Post Intelligencer - Mar 20, 2009
Trailing NBC's Earl (6.42 mil)/rehashed Office combo, Smallville hit some "Turbulence," dropping 12 percent to 3.29 mil. Next week: Zatanna hits town, ...
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4-20-2009 @ 7:15AM
Jonathan said...
I was talking with a friend the other day about the episode Requiem, since it made it seem like Lex had died. But I have a different theory. We know Lex still had a number of resources before Tess pronounced him 'dead'. We also know he likes cloning technology. What's to say he didn't pull a Season Six Lana and fake his death. We know he was in a much larger space than a truck would give him. He was also continously watching things via a computer screen. What's to say he did not put a clone in there, and then was watching things as they went. Lex is not a moron, and this type of thing would free him to become the criminal mastermind we all know and love from the comics, cartoons, and movies.
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5-24-2009 @ 4:57PM
Reo Chatwin, Jr. said...
Of course Michael Rosenbaum should return to the show! The man has portrayed the best Lex Luthor by far! In both Looks AND personality! His character is far superior than even Kevin Spacey's or Gene Hackman's Luthor. Bar NONE. I really wish he would return. He helped make Smallville what it has become.
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5-28-2009 @ 8:26PM
Floody said...
they should def bring him back. since the 9th or 10th will be the last, might as well go out with the good people that started!
i felt they destroyed the 'superman' part when lex 'died.' then jimmy dies??? i dont think so. clark beats doomsday?? i dont think so. lois needs clark and clark should be flying now. in the 1st season he dreamed of flying and did!
ok anyways, yeah, dude should come back
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