Lex Luthor is Coming to ‘Supergirl’

While most of the CW/DC news of late has been focused on the currently-in-production “Elseworlds” crossover, Warner Bros. Television today announced a Supergirl announcement that will rock the Arrowverse almost as much: Lex Luthor is coming.

Superman’s greatest nemesis will come to Supergirl sometime after the crossover; he has not yet even been cast, and will not appear in the event.

“We’re beyond excited to introduce iconic villain, Lex Luthor, to Supergirl and to weave him into our story this season,” Executive Producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller said in a statement.”We’ve talked about having Lex on the show since it’s inception and we’re excited to have him finally arrive. We can’t wait for him to shake things up in National City and watch him go toe to toe with not only Supergirl, but his sister Lena Luthor.”

This means that the Arrowverse take on Luthor will come to TV just weeks after the first appearance of the shared superhero universe’s first look at Lois Lane.

Lex’s sister Lena (Katie McGrath) has been a part of the show since season two, when she became a stand-in for Calista Flockhart’s Cat Grant, who left when the show moved production from Los Angeles to Vancouver.

The addition of Luthor and Lois to Supergirl will likely get fans talking even more than they were before about the possibility of creating a Superman series featuring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch. The odds have never seemed particularly high given the necessary budget, but recent reports that Henry Cavill and Warner Bros. have parted ways and the current Superman film franchise is dead in the water may give the idea of bringing the Man of Steel to television more credence.

Lex has a long history on the small screen, having been played by John Shea (in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), Scott James Wells (The Adventures of Superboy, season one) and Sherman Howard (the rest of the Superboy series), and Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville).

Lex and Lois were supposed to headline a Gotham-style prequel series called Metropolis, which would tackle the City of Tomorrow but not center on Superman himself. That series, which was supposed to air on the DC Universe app, was delayed. If Lex and/or Lois go any further than they have on Supergirl, it might be an indicator that the show is unlikely to materialize soon.

Supergirl airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sundays, before episodes of Charmed on The CW.