Michael Rosenbaum recently spoke with the Bleeding Cool website about a number of topics, including the much-asked-about Smallville animated project. Unfortunately, the latest seems to be no update on what we’ve heard before.
“I would say the Smallville animated series that I created, and we have Al and Miles, creators of Smallville, who are in, and Tom Welling. We want to do it, and it’s just got to be the right timing. Right now, I’m not sure it is, but we’ll see. I think it will happen at some point, but I don’t know when. I wish I had an oracle, but I hope it comes to fruition,” Michael told them.
Rosenbaum also discussed the things that really made his Lex Luthor work.
“Ultimately, if you don’t know anything about the character’s past or don’t know why he became evil, then to me, you’re missing the special sauce and the ingredients. That’s what is most important to me. I knew I was playing a character, we were going to delve into his past, his childhood, his relationship with his father, and with other people. We saw him evolve, and I thought that’s what was interesting,” he said. “I thought the creators (behind Smallville, Al (Gough) and Miles (Millar) did a terrific job, and that’s why people liked what I did, because I had the opportunity to be likable, lovable, and be understood, and then I turned. You know why I did, and to me, that’s the best villain. When you see different layers, that’s all I’ll say about that. There have been some great actors to play Lex, but I think that’s the most important thing to me, and I had the luxury of having years to develop and become the ultimate villain,” he continued.
As for his favorite Lex Luthor actors?
Michael’s favorite is Gene Hackman “because of the nostalgia,” and he loves Nicholas Hoult’s take on the character from James Gunn’s 2025 Superman film. He also had fond things to say about Michael Cudlitz and Jon Cryer.
You can read the full Bleeding Cool interview here.