Kristin Kreuk & Michael Rosenbaum to Leave "Smallville"

"Smallville" may have just been renewed for an 8th season, but two of its principal stars will no longer be regular cast members. Can CW's young Superman drama survive without Lana and Lex?


According to TV Guide, two original cast members - Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) and Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) opted not to renew their 7-year contracts and return as series regulars next year, but are open to several guest starring appearances, the details of which are being negotiated.



The producers may have expected this development as most marketing efforts this season focused on two more recent female cast members who play crucial characters on the show - Erica Durance, who came on board in season 4 as Lois Lane, and Laura Vandervoort, who joined the show this year as Supergirl.



A long-time regular male cast member is expected to be killed off for good in the first of 5 post-strike episodes, that airs on Thursday, April 17. Could it be John Glover's psychopath Lionel Luthor who turns evil all over again? The actor was rumored to be contracted for season eight, but anything is possible.

In its 7th year, "Smallville" is CW's top-rated scripted drama averaging 3.86 million viewers per week. Last season the show averaged 3.98 million viewers. The show's 7th season finale airs on May 15.

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Justin Hartley Shirtless on "Smallville"

Last night on The CW's "Smallville," Justice League hunk the Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) made a droolworthy shirtless appearance. Check out the stills from the "Toxic" episode of the young Superman drama, after the jump.

Alan "Aquaman" Ritchson Returns to Smallville

Former "American Idol" contestant and "Smallville" hunk Alan Ritchson is coming back to the hunkage heavy CW series reprising his role as the "Justice League" character Aquaman in the show's upcoming 8th season, beginning Thursday, September 18.


Ritchson and co-star Justin Hartley, who also played Aquaman in the unaired 2006 CW pilot before joining "Smallville" as vigilante 'The Green Arrow', both exposed their superhero bulges for a CW promo campaign.






Ritchson originally made an unforgettable wet appearance in an early season 5 episode titled "Aqua," before coming back for a "Justice League" reunion in a special season 6 episode in January 2007.

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"Smallville" Spoilers: Season 8 Premiere

Following radical behind the scenes changes at CW's top scripted drama (at least that's what it's been over the past couple of seasons, though "90210" may take that crown away now), "Smallville" returns on September 18 for an 8th season.


The opening episode titled "Odyssey" marks the return of "Justice League" led by Justin Hartley's ("Aquaman") popular season 6 character the Green Arrow.

With Clark (Tom Welling) still missing after his showdown with Lex in May’s season finale, it’s up to the Justice League to save the day.

Aquaman (Alan Ritchson), Black Canary (Alaina Huffman) and Green Arrow hit the Artic in search of Clark (Tom Welling), who disappeared after the fortress collapsed.



They immediately have a confrontation with the new CEO of Luthorcorp, Tess Mercer (new cast member Cassidy Freeman). Later, they track down the Man of Steel at a shady Russian work camp, where Clark is powerless.



Michael Rosenbaum who played Clark's arch rival Lex Luthor for 7 seasons has left the series and wrote this open letter to fans of the show.



Meanwhile, Chloe (Allison Mack) is being held prisoner by a suspicious group who has discovered she has a new power, and Clark has been stripped of his powers by Jor-El.

Erica Durance and Aaron Ashmore also appear in the episode.



According to executive producer Todd Slavkin, the Justice League will never be the same, and Clark Kent will never be the same. "The premiere pushes us into areas we’ve never explored before, mainly Clark’s destiny," he said to TV Guide.

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Justice League to Launch Smallville: Season 8

This morning's TV Guide revealed Justice League will return to CW's top drama "Smallville" at the launch of season 8 in September. Following all the hoopla about actors leaving the show, here's a little recap now of who's leaving, who's back and who's joining the show next season.


The most notable is the departure of resident villain Lex Luthor who was played by Michael Rosenbaum since the show began in 2001.


Battlestar Galactica's Sam Witwer will become the show's new cetral villain, Doomsday, a.k.a. Davis Bloome, a charismatic Metropolis paramedic, with burgeoning darkness within.

Cassidy Freeman will also join the cast as series regular Tess Mercer, a sexy, cunning and ruthless new CEO of LuthorCorp. hired by Lex to run his empire in his absence.



Justin Hartley (Green Arrow/Oliver Queen), a recurring guest star in season 6, has become a new series regular. He will be back for at least 12 episodes, including the season premiere in which he summons Justice League to locate a missing Clark.



This time around, in addition to Green Arrow the league will comprise Aquaman (Alan Ritchson) and Black Canary (Alaina Huffman). Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris) will also make an appearance.



One of the original cast members Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) will no longer be a series regular, but she is said to be back for several special guest appearances.



Erica Durance (Lois Lane) will be back as series regular for at least 12 episodes. Her character will take her relationship with Clark to a new level, as he finally joins "The Daily Planet" and gets to work right across her.



Following difficult contractual negotiations, Allison Mack will also be back as Chloe. She remains one of the original series regulars and gets to appear in all 22 episodes.



As for some of the more recent faces, Aaron Ashmore is said to be back as Jimmy Olsen, but Laura Vandervoort (Supergirl/Kara) will not be one of the regulars. She may however appear in a handful of episodes.



Of course, series creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have departed the show for undisclosed reasons, but the long-time producers and writers promise they will do their best to keep their voices in the new storylines.

Although it seemed at one point last spring The CW was trying to squeeze out a very disappointing 8th season and the show began to resemble a sinking ship, with all the above-mentioned talent on board for at least a part of season 8, this may very well turn out to be a solid year for "Smallville."

I'll certainly keep my mind open for the sake of all the great stories this great team has already given us.

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Tom Welling's Vogue Photo Shoot (May 2008)

"Smallville" hunk Tom Welling, whom we have not seen in any official photo shoot for his CW drama this season, appears in the May edition of Vogue magazine playing a Clark Kent-like "cunning newspaper editor."

Welling's 7-year old series is undergoing major changes for season 8 - co-stars Kristin Kreuk (Lana) and Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) will no longer be series regulars and original creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have exited the series.

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Smallville Spoilers #713 "Hero": Pete Returns!

Actor Sam Jones III who played Clark Kent's (Tom Welling) friend Pete Ross on The CW's "Smallville" and was last seen in the season 3 episode titled "Forsaken" is coming back to the fictional Kansas town in an upcoming March episode.

Despite the writers' strike, the cast and crew have been able to complete 15 episodes of the drama, and as reported last week, there will be 5 more in April. Meanwhile, we'll get to see the 3 remaining pre-strike episode, staring with #713 "Hero."

In the episode, Pete who gets a meteor-induced stretching ability, saves Kara's and Jimmy's lives. Lex will however try to manipulate Pete by using his past feelings for Chloe.

Pete won't be too happy with the changes that have occurred in the town. Among other things, he is disappointed to learn that many people now know Clark's secret, one he carefully kept for his best friend.

The band One Republic make a special guest appearance in the episode.

The CW has yet to release an official summary and airdate for the episode.

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