Superman & Lois Star Tyler Hoechlin Explains Show's Limited Arrowverse Connections
While The CW's Superman & Lois is officially part of the network's larger Arrowverse of DC inspired shows, the actual connections between the series and the rest of the shared universe since its debut have been few. While series star Tyler Hoechlin made his debut as Clark Kent/Superman on Supergirl, the character's National City cousin has never been mentioned and even the recent appearance of Jenna Dewan's Lucy Lane, a fixture on Supergirl's first season, was a completely different version of the character when she appeared in Superman & Lois' second season. The only direct connection the series has had with the greater Arrowverse was an appearance from John Diggle (David Ramsey) in Season 1. Now, Hoechlin is speaking out on the lack of connections between Superman & Lois and the rest of the Arrowverse with the actor largely citing COVID-19 as a big reason why there hasn't been more interaction in the shared universe.
"I would say there are so many different layers to that, especially for us last year having COVID," Hoechlin told fans at FanExpo Vancouver (via Screenrant). "I know there were ideas of doing crossovers and they just got scrapped right away. I mean even keeping your own production up and running was so difficult that it just got completely squashed. For us, at least for me, the way I have approached it from the beginning—again these are all conversations that go on between all kinds of people in L.A. and everywhere else— for us, we kind of just take care of what we're taking care of day-to-day. For me, knowing what Bitsie and I had done in the previous shows and how we had our infant child [before] coming into this world of having two teenagers, I just had to make sense in my mind how we got there and for me it was a clean slate. Because otherwise, I'd be asking questions, 'What happened to our infant child?'"
He continued, "So for me, just to clarify and make it easier for me to get into what we were doing, I just cut it and started over. So, whatever that ends up being, that's the thing with TV too—with film, you know where you start, you know where you finish. With TV, it's constantly evolving so it might be one thing today and it might be something completely different tomorrow or next week or a year from now. So, to say anything definitively, I know it's always annoying we don't do it, but it wouldn't be doing justice to it all. Because we don't know, it's never like a final answer until the show is over and then you get reboot. It never ends. So, for us right now, just at least the way I'm approaching it, it is that for me the only memory I have as this Clark is that this has been my life with these guys and that's just how I'm approaching it so who knows, time will tell with the rest."
The idea that Hoechlin's Clark is, for him, separate and different from the version we previously saw on Supergirl and in Arrowverse crossovers lines up with what Superman & Lois showrunner Todd. Helbing explained as to how the series was able to bring in a different take on Lucy Lane, with Helbing citing "Crisis on Infinite Earths as giving them the opportunity to "rewrite" the character.
"We were able to do that thanks to the blanket of Crisis [on Infinite Earths], which sort of rewrote characters," Helbing said previously.
Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
What do you think about Hoechlin's comments? Do you wish Superman & Lois was more connected to the larger Arrowverse? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.