Superman & Lois Reportedly Going Straight to Series Production After Coronavirus Delay

With concerns about the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 continuing, so have the impacts the pandemic has had on the entertainment industry. Over the last several days, movie releases have been delayed, production on various film and television projects have been halted, and large gatherings such as conventions have been cancelled or delayed in the effort to halt the spread of the outbreak. While the long-term impact the shutdowns will have remains a bit of a mystery, for new series that were set to head into pilot production, that may now shift straight to series production instead -- including The CW's Superman & Lois.

A new report from Deadline indicates that the Arrowverse spinoff series may end up going straight to series production once the coronavirus delays have ended.

"A number of them, including Call Me Kat, The Big Sky and Superman & Lois, were planning to film a pilot episode during pilot season, take a break to assess it before starting series production," the report notes. "I hear most of the shows will now go straight to series production."

This is a pretty big shift for those series. Just last week, Elizabeth Tulloch took to social media to share the cover photo of the Superman & Lois pilot script as production on the pilot was scheduled to begin later this month. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it's possible that won't play out quite as planned. As is, production on The Flash as well as Riverdale -- which both film in Vancouver -- have both been halted.

Ordered to series back in January, Superman & Lois will see Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin reprise their roles as Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman as well as be joined by Jordan Elsass and Alexander Garfin who will take on the roles of Jonathan and Jordan Kent, the sons of Clark and Lois. Elsass will play Jonathan while Garfin will play Jordan. It was previously reported that the series will see some changes for Lois and Clark, with Lois still working at The Daily Planet while Clark was fired due to "massive layoffs". The series will also see Jordan and Jonathan learning about their father's life as a hero while also potentially inheriting his powers.

While the possibility that Superman & Lois will simply go straight into series production is a bit of somewhat welcome news, the production delays may not be good news for projects that do not have straight-to-series orders. The report also suggests that television networks may not make all the previously ordered pilots this season, with some projects being dropped altogether if things are delayed beyond eight weeks -- the point at which networks can enforce the force majeure contract clause and drop projects without penalty.