Throughout Supergirl Season 1, Kara Zor-El's much more famous cousin was frequently referenced, but he also "appeared" a couple of times, and by that I mean he was either glimpsed hazily or from afar. Fortunately for Superman fans, it was announced earlier this month that the Man of Steel will finally be fully seen at the beginning of Supergirl Season 2. Since then, fans have been wondering who will play the role, and now it's official. Supergirl has found their new Superman in Teen Wolf star Tyler Hoechlin.
The casting was announced today by DC Comics and The CW, giving fans their newest TV version of Superman to participate on screen in the expansive DC CW multiverse. Hoechlin's iteration of Superman will appear in Supergirl Season 2's first two episodes, though there's no word yet on if there will be other appearances beyond that. There also wasn't a picture of him in the red and blue costume, but with the fall TV season still months away, there's plenty of time to release an image of him before Season 2 premieres.
In the world of Supergirl, Kal-El (Superman's Krytponian name) and Kar Zor-El were both launched off Krypton right before it exploded. The intent was for Kara to look after Kal when they arrived on Earth, as she was a preteen at the time and he was just a baby. However, her pod was accidentally knocked into the Phantom Zone, and by the time she was freed and got to Earth, Kal, a.k.a. Clark Kent on Earth, had already grown up and become Superman, using his mighty abilities to protect his adopted people. Almost a decade later, Kara followed in the footsteps of her now-older cousin and became Supergirl, wanting to inspire humanity just like he has.
Throughout Supergirl Season 1, the show came up with various reasons not to clearly feature Superman. After the incident with Reactron in the third episode, he promised not to get involved with her own crimefighting activities unless she asked. That way, she could grow as a superhero on her own. Still, the fact that his only presence was either from a long distance away or via instant messages started to get weird as the season progressed. That moment when viewers only saw his boots when he was lying in a coma at the DEO base was a head shaker. Now he'll finally get to participate in a meaningful way.
Tyler Hoechlin main claim to fame is playing Derek Hale on MTV's Teen Wolf series. His other credits include Road to Perdition, 7th Heaven, Everybody Wants Some!! and the upcoming Fifty Shades Darker. In addition to Hoechlin, it's been reported that Supergirl is adding five new characters for Season 2, so he'll have plenty of newcomer costars in the months ahead.
After airing its first season on CBS, Supergirl will continue this fall on The CW in its normal timeslot: Mondays at 8 p.m.
