When Superman & Lois was renewed for Season 4 last year, fan excitement was tempered by another major announcement: seven of The CW series' main cast would not be returning as series regulars for what ended up being the final season of the series. Instead, Dylan Walsh (Sam Lane), Emanuelle Chiriqui (Lana Lang), Erik Valdez (Kyle Cushing), Inde Navarette (Sarah Cushing), Wole Parks (John Henry Irons), Tayler Buck (Natalie Irons), and Sofia Hasmik (Chrissy Beppo) were all demoted recurring or guest status, depending on availability. Now, with Superman & Lois set to return next month, showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher revealed to EW that all seven actors will appear in the final season -- and promises their story arcs have satisfying conclusions.
Helbing explained that the changes to the cast was part of what had to happen in order to get Superman & Lois its Season 4 renewal with Fletcher calling the difficult decision "a lot of the secret sauce that helped us get this done." Helbing also explained that when they told the cast, however, they all were committed to being in as many episodes as possible and, as such, the series was able to give them a solid send off.
"But when we talked to all the cast members, everybody understood it, and they were still committed to being in as many episodes as we could put them in," Helbing said. "It also afforded us [the opportunity to] wrap all these storylines up in a really satisfactory way. People get a full meal, so the episodes they were in, they're part of the storyline in a way that maybe they weren't the past three seasons, and it's really satisfying."
When news first broke about the cast changes, fans of Superman & Lois wondered exactly how the series would address what, at the time, seemed like a major shift. Soon after the announcement, it seemed like fans might not see some characters return at all. Leslie Bourque-Walks, wife of Dylan Walsh took to Instagram to confirm that the actor (and character) had been cu t due to budget constraints and Parks also shared on his Instagram Story that he was "looking for work". Between that and the announcement that Michael Cudlitz had been promoted to series regular for Season 4 as Lex Luthor, many began to speculate that the series might shift away from its Smallville setting entirely and send the Kents back to Metropolis, though the recently-released Season 4 synopsis reveals that Smallville remains a focus with Luthor moving to the town to further his schemes against Lois and reveals that each departing cast member will guest star in the season.
As for how the series will wrap things up overall, Fletcher also teased that the series finale will be unexpected for fans, so much so that they'll be surprised when the credits come up.
"I don't think people are going to think we're ending the show the way that we are," Fletcher said. "When it ends and the credits come up, they're going to be surprised."
Here's how The CW describes the final season of Superman & Lois : Season four of Superman & Lois picks up right where last season left off: with Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Luthor's monster locked in a ferocious, moon-wrecking battle, as Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) fights for his life against the seemingly unstoppable creature. Back on the ground, General Lane (guest star Dylan Walsh) struggles to stay alive after being kidnapped by Luthor's henchmen, while Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), Jordan (Alex Garfin), and Jonathan (Michael Bishop) race against time to rescue him. But standing in their way is Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz) himself, who has permanently moved to Smallville as the next step in his malicious plan to destroy Lois Lane. Meanwhile, Lana Lang (guest star Emanuelle Chriqui) uses her position as Mayor to fight back against Luthor's schemes, a move which puts her in the sights of the most dangerous man in the world and threatens everything she holds dear. This includes her relationship with John Henry Irons (guest star Wol? Parks), who must put his Ironworks plans on hold and rejoin the DOD, now that General Lane is missing. But they aren't the only duo in trouble, as Chrissy Beppo (guest star Sofia Hasmik) and Kyle Cushing (guest star Eric Valdez) face an uphill battle of their own, with countless roadblocks that threaten to ruin their future together. Amid all the chaos, Sarah Cortez (guest star Inde Navarette) and Natalie Irons (guest star Tayler Buck) also join the fight against Luthor, while both facing impossible decisions about their paths in life. And as Clark's battle with the terrifying monster continues, Lois, her boys, and the world must face an unthinkable possibility: what if Superman never returns?
The fourth and final season of Superman & Lois will debut with a two-episode premiere on Monday, October 7th at 8 p.m. ET on The CW with new episodes following on Monday nights at the same time going forward after that.
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