Could Superman Return To The CW? Here's What Greg Berlanti Says

supergirl superman

Supergirl kicked off Season 2 on The CW with a big family reunion for Kara when Superman dropped by to visit his cousin for a double dose of truth, justice, and the American way. Tyler Hoechlin fit right in among the rest of the Supergirl cast for the first two episodes of the second season, and fans have been wondering ever since if we can expect his version of the Man of Steel to return to Earth-38. Well, Supergirl executive producer Greg Berlanti had this to say about another visit from Superman:

Look, we were just really lucky. We asked to have him come on for the first couple episodes and they were great about it. We'd love to have Tyler back, he's amazing, he was great in the role. In success, I think all those things are possible. I'm always the guy who says 'yes' if there seems to be an appetite for it and the people involved are really nice.

News broke that Tyler Hoechlin would appear as Superman on Supergirl Season 2 over the summer, and the general consensus was that Hoechlin at least looked the part of Clark Kent. When he made his debut in the Season 2 premiere, he managed to do justice to arguably the biggest superhero in comic history without overshadowing the leading lady of the series. Given that it's practically tradition at this point for Greg Berlanti's superhero series to launch spinoffs in their second seasons, there was even chatter of a Superman spinoff for Hoechlin. While a companion series doesn't seem to be in the works, Greg Berlanti's comments at the recent TCA press tour (via EW) indicate that the door is open for Hoechlin to reprise his role as Superman.

Superman visited National City at just the right time in Season 2. Kara faced off against the legendary DC villain Metallo, who had a heart of kryptonite that could cripple any solo Kryptonian. When a second bad guy with a kryptonite heart emerged from Cadmus, it took the combined powers of Supergirl and Superman to save the day. Metallo is known in comic lore as a Superman villain; maybe Supergirl could bring Superman back for one of the next times that Kara faces off against one of his comic villain, since we know that's happening.

Of course, certain planets will need to align for Tyler Hoechlin to return to Supergirl. Greg Berlanti and Co. will need to find the right way to bring him back into the action at a time that coincides with Hoechlin's availability. The actor has worked primarily in films since leaving MTV's Teen Wolf in 2014, so it might be tricky to find a time that works for both him to don the Superman cape once more.

Supergirl was just renewed for a Season 3, so there's plenty of time for a Superman return to National City. In the meantime, you can catch the first Supergirl episode of the midseason when the show returns to The CW on Monday, January 23 at 8 p.m. ET. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see when exactly the other CW superhero shows return to the airwaves in the coming weeks.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).