The new DC Universe franchise may be getting its fair share of acclaim right now, after several key wins (Superman and Clayface on the movie side, Lanterns on the TV side), but the new ventures have come at a cost. The former DCEU franchise might have been flailing when DC Studios was announced in 2023, but there were a couple of strong parts of the franchise: Matt Reeves had successfully relaunched the Batman movie franchise with The Batman (2022), while Superman had already made a comeback in The CW’s Arrowverse series, Superman & Lois.
While The Batman has been allowed to remain in play as Reeves completes the sequel, The Batman: Part II, Superman & Lois didn’t fare as well: the show was cancelled in what many saw as its prime, four seasons in, when the Superman lore was at its richest. So is it really gone forever?
One of the stars of Superman & Lois was actress Emmanuelle Chiriqui, who played Lana Lang, Clark Kent’s high school sweetheart who becomes a prominent figure in Smallville. Chiriqui is starring in the new sci-fi-thriller film Model Citizen, which is now streaming on digital platforms. During our interview, I had to ask Chiriqui if the cast and crew of Superman & Lois felt any kind of way about being cancelled during a hot streak – and if there had been any talks with James Gunn or DC Studios about giving Superman & Lois a respectful send-off via a DC multiverse cameo or crossover.
“I mean, listen, I’ve never done that. I don’t know if anybody else on the show has,” Chiriqui responded. “I sort of feel like we had a great run, and think like when it was done, it just really felt kind of done.
That initial answer may sound pretty final – with good reason. Superman & Lois ended on a pretty final note, which examined how Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) lived full lives together, raising their kids into adults, while protecting the world from supervillain threats, and advancing the world through charitable organizations. The series took the bold approach of exploring Superman and Lois’ lives until they both ended (Lois from cancer, Clark from old age), and the two are reunited in the afterlife.
It’s hard to continue the story from that point, but thanks to the multiverse, all variations of the characters (and actors) we know and love are possible. And Chiriqiu wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of there being some kind of comic book scenario that could bring her and the Superman & Lois crew into the DCU tent.
“You know what I like?… Here’s the thing, Kofi. You never, ever know what’s around the corner. That’s sort of the blessing and the curse of our business: you just never know,” Chiriqui said. “So I would never say never.”
DC has gone even further down the rabbit hole of multiversal storytelling than Marvel has, with films like The Flash linking back to any number of other DC films. On the TV side, the Arrowverse version of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” also pulled in any number of previous DC TV shows for the epic crossover – including an epic moment where Hoechlin’s Clark Kent meets Smallville star Tom Welling’s Clark Kent. So there is precedent for DC to give its formative Superman works a nod in later works. And doesn’t Superman & Lois deserve it?
Superman & Lois can be streamed on HBO Max. Model Citizen is now streaming on digital platforms.
