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Smallville: Christopher Reeve’s Deleted Return as Dr. Swann in “Gone”

The Dr. Swann character played by Christopher Reeve on Smallville was originally written into the episode “Gone,” and KryptonSite has the details.

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One of the most iconic moments in Smallville’s ten-year history was the first appearance of Dr. Virgil Swann in the episode “Rosetta.” Clark Kent (Tom Welling) learned of his Kryptonian origins at last, and as an added bonus, legendary Superman actor Christopher Reeve played the part. Reeve would return again in the Smallville Season 3 episode “Legacy.”

The part of the story that has not been talked about as much, though, is that Dr. Swann was originally set to appear at the start of Season 4, but unfortunately, his health would not allow and he died on October 10, 2004. It is to be assumed that some material was cut from the season premiere “Crusade” that may have reunited him with his Superman III co-star Annette O’Toole; instead, Swann’s envoy Dr. Bridgette Crosby, played by former Lois Lane actress Margot Kidder, filled in when the episode was finally shot and aired.

Sadly, we don’t know much about a possible Reeve version of “Crusade” but here at KryptonSite Central we do have a script draft of the episode “Gone” which includes a scene of Clark confronting Dr. Swann about the helicopters that were sent after him and Lois at the top of the episode. With Michael Rosenbaum & Tom Welling’s TalkVille podcast covering the episode this week, today felt like a great time to share.

For some background, the episode was written by future showrunners Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders, and the scene takes place right after Clark and Lois tell Jonathan and Martha about what happened. The next shot is Clark going through the double doors of Dr. Swann’s office in Metropolis. The office is described as having a lot of mahogany lit by a noirish green desk lamp.

“You sent them, didn’t you?” Clark asks, confronting Dr. Swann.

“I’m beginning to understand why Jor-El felt the need to employ such severe parenting techniques,” responds Swann.

Clark apologizes for barging in, but asks: “The guys in the helicopter — you sent them after me because it was your jet I broke into, wasn’t it?”

“When was the last time I sent helicopters after you, Clark?” Swann asks. “All I’ve ever offered you is guidance.”

“In exchange for what? There has to be a reason why you’re always so eager to help me,” Clark accuses, clearly unaware of the “Veritas” storyline that is about three seasons away.

“Does there?” Swann asks.

“That’s usually how it works,” Clark tells him.

Swann tells Clark that he’s becoming jaded, and Clark gives Swann the same routine he’d often give others. “Thanks to people like you. It’s like you know about some big puzzle out there but you won’t tell me what it is. You’re just using me to solve it,” he says, before asking Swann why he didn’t tell him about the crystal.

Swann is surprised to hear the word “crystal” and begins to look alarmed. “The crystal you’re referring to — did it bear the Kryptonian description for the word ‘Crusade?'” he asks, and Clark confirms that it did.

“That crystal may be intended for you, but the quest for it is centuries old,” Swann says before activating a large screen behind them. On the screen, Swann shows Clark locations across the world where there are etched Kryptonian symbols, inscriptions, and paintings, and he tells Clark that “every culture has its predictions” but none knew where the crystals actually were. He reveals that by his interpretation, there are three crystals, and that only Clark could find them.

Clark is confused – if they’re Kryptonian, why would anyone else want the crystals?

“Answers. Strength. No one knows for certain what power the crystals hold, but for 1200 years people have killed each other seeking them out,” Dr. Swann tells him. “The crusade for the crystals has been a bloody one, and there are dark forces who will stop at nothing to get them.”

“That must be why Jor-El sent me back. It was like he reprogrammed me to find them,” Clark says.

“But you didn’t listen,” Swann admonishes. “You’ve continually refused to accept your destiny, Clark. It was only a matter of time before someone accepted it for you.”

Sadly, Christopher Reeve was never able to film this scene or this episode of Smallville, though it would have been amazing if Dr. Swann had set the stage for the season arc of Smallville Season 4. For now, 19 years later, we can only reflect and think about what might have been….

Follow @KryptonSite on Twitter/X for continued Smallville news – KryptonSite still exists! If you would like to quote this in another article, PLEASE include a link and do not reproduce the whole thing, so people can read the rest here. Thanks!

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Smallville

Smallville 25th Anniversary Convention: All Weekend Passes Now Available

The Salute to Smallville 25th Anniversary Convention in Nashville has made all weekend admission pass tiers available.

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We are as excited as everyone else around here for Creation Entertainment’s Salute to Smallville convention in November as it will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show! KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne (that’s me!) is back to co-emcee the event with good friend and fellow enthusiast Derek Russell from The House of El. Guests for the show include Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance, Laura Vandervoort, John Glover, Sam Jones III, Helen Slater, Eric Johnson, Erica Cerra, Adrianne Palicki, and Phil Morris, with hopefully more to be announced!

Before today, only the highest-tier (and most expensive) Gold admission passes had been available for the November 6-7 event which will be happening in Nashville, Tennessee… but now, Silver, Copper, and very affordable General Admission passes are now being offered, making it a great time to hop on and plan a trip for later this year!

Salute to Smallville will feature Q&A panels with cast, autograph and photo opportunities, meet and greets, and much more…. and it’s a great opportunity to meet other people who loved and enjoyed Smallville as much as you have! For many of us, we’ve been watching for a quarter of a century!

Check it out – let’s get this event sold out!

 

DISCLAIMER: When he’s not working on websites for himself, Craig Byrne works on graphics and websites for Creation Entertainment, and as mentioned before, he is also one of the hosts of this event!

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April Fools

[APRIL FOOL’S 2026] The CW To Air Smallville 25th Anniversary Special (Exclusive)

The CW will be returning to the superhero game with a 25th anniversary special devoted to Smallville.

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NOTE: This is an April Fool’s Day post and the elements mentioned within are all a work of fiction… as far as we know.

The CW will be paying homage to one of its classics at a time when their current direction has been going far, far away.

The network, which was home to Smallville as well as such fan-favorite shows as Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, The Flash, Arrow and more, has mostly gone the way of acquired TV from other countries, reality TV, and sports since the Nexstar organization took control of The CW and reduced owners CBS (now Paramount) and Warner Bros. (soon to be part of Paramount themselves) to being minority share-holders… but that looks to change. Exercising their right to dictate at least part of the programming, and perhaps a precursor of things to come from The CW once the Paramount/WB merger happens, The CW has scheduled a Smallville 25th Anniversary TV special to air in June, five months before the actual anniversary which will hit in October.

The special will feature interviews with series stars Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Erica Durance, John Glover, Annette O’Toole, Laura Vandervoort, Cassidy Freeman and Justin Hartley and it will be hosted by Supernatural actor and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Matt Cohen. Creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are also a part of the special, which will additionally include archival interviews and footage from the time of the series’ original run. The “SV25” logo created by Derek Russell for The House of El has been licensed by the special’s producers to be seen in the special. Fans including the author of this article were also interviewed for the feature, with interviews having been conducted at one of last year’s conventions. Never-before-seen deleted scenes from episodes of Smallville – ones that aren’t even on the DVD box sets – are expected to be unearthed.

If that’s not enough, the Smallville 25th Anniversary Special is rumored to have footage from the top-secret Smallville: Wall of Weird (working title) pilot episode that was shot last November for a streaming service. While it appears the project was completely buried in the wake of the Paramount/WB merger, we are told that the first episode was a hybrid of a reboot and a sequel, featuring Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, and Erica Durance in supporting roles with appearances by Kristin Kreuk and, for some reason, Eric Johnson, and that it was best described as “Smallville meets Stranger Things,” with a young cast investigating the strange occurrences in Smallville in the decades after its two meteor showers. Unfortunately, this might be the only footage we ever see from the series because of the previously-mentioned merger; additionally, there apparently are some legal/rights issues involved as well as a hesitation to have yet another take of Superman in live-action media while James Gunn has his movie franchise. Also, in a world where even Hulu has passed on new Buffy and Starfleet Academy is gone after only two seasons, it seems the studios and streamers are just afraid to take that risk. Take a look at some photos from the Smallville: Wall of Weird pilot shoot here, leaked by director James Beeman himself!

Currently, The Smallville 25th Anniversary Special: Always Hold On To Smallville is scheduled to air Friday, June 19. If it does well, perhaps we’ll learn more about some of these other projects. What do you think? Leave some comments below, come talk about this on the KryptonSite Forum, and be sure to read this link before you share this big news.

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Smallville

Justin Hartley Would “Love” To Play Green Arrow Again

When asked if he’d play a superhero, Justin Hartley says he would love to play the Green Arrow again.

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Justin Hartley

Appearing yesterday on The Jennifer Hudson Show to promote his show Tracker, Justin Hartley was asked by Hudson if he’d ever like to play a superhero again… and his response might be surprising and of course welcomed by the Smallville fandom.

“I would love to play a superhero again,” he told her, continuing on to say which superhero he’d like to play.

“You know, there are so many interesting ones that have been portrayed and there are so many that haven’t yet been portrayed… what I think would be really cool, though, now that I’m older [and] I have different life experiences, I would approach it differently and it would be a different story… I’d like to jump back into that Green Arrow suit, honestly.”

He did have one caveat: “Maybe not that exact suit, but something a bit hipper.”

“I think you’d find him in a different place, and you could tell different stories,” Hartley said about Green Arrow and his alter ego. “He’s been through stuff, and I think it would be interesting. I would love that.”

Years before Stephen Amell donned the green tights, Justin Hartley played Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow in five seasons of Smallville. Of course, if he were to ever return, we assume his character would be a widower. Al & Miles, are you listening?

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