Supergirl Star Says Lex Luthor Had a Different Fate in Original Season 5 Finale

Like most of The CW's series, Supergirl was actively in production when things were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. It's something that led to a brief delay in new episodes hitting the network while those involved tried to figure out how the situation would impact the remainder of the season. For Supergirl, the series had begun filming its season finale when the shutdown hit and with no end in sight the Arrowverse show's season five closer is getting a bit of a rewrite -- one that changes the fate of Jon Cryer's Lex Luthor.

Cryer recently spoke to PeopleTV's Couch Surfing and revealed that because of the shutdown, the season finale is having to be rewritten and those rewrites will work out in Lex Luthor's favor, something he's personally thrilled about.

"The Supergirl folks have talked to me because we couldn't shoot our last episode," Cryer explained. "We had shot some of the last episode, and they're gonna use some of that footage, but they're writing a whole bunch of new stuff around it. Which is interesting because the way my character was thwarted now doesn't happy anymore. So, I was like, 'Oh, did I not get defeated? Wait a minute, I like this!' Supervillains, we relish our chance to actually not be defeated every now and then."

This reworking of the season finale may explain why Supergirl isn't returning this week with the other current Arrowverse shows. The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow both returned on Tuesday night and Batwoman will return on Sunday, April 26. Supergirl was initially slated to return that same night but was recently pushed back for a May 3 return. It's unclear at this point how much shorter Supergirl's season will end up being. Earlier this week, The Flash star Grant Gustin revealed that that series' season will end with episode 19 instead of the originally planned 22, though with Supergirl being further along in its production it may get a few additional episodes to air.

What we do know at this point is that when Supergirl does return, it will be with the Lex-centric "Deux Lex Machina". The episode, which will be series star Melissa Benoist's directorial debut, is set to reveal just how the villainous Lex ended up coming to power after "Crisis on Infinite Earths".

Are you excited that Supergirl's season finale will now see Lex getting a different fate? Let us know in the comments below.

Supergirl airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW. "Deus Lex Machina" airs May 3rd.