There were a number of factors that went into Superman & Lois ending in season 4, one of which had to do with the DCU’s first timeline release. With a brand-new universe launching, DC Studios clearly seems to be looking to differentiate themselves, with as few alternate DC universes as possible under their umbrella at this time. With the DCU Superman movie releasing in 2025, having another Superman on television could create confusion for audiences, or diminish the significance of the film, further scuppering chances at some fascinating story ideas for the show being explored.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Wasn’t Originally Where The DC Show Was Planned To End
The DC Show Was Planned To Run For 7 Seasons
Season 4 was always planned to examine the story of Superman dying onscreen, but the approach was originally planned to be much different. Presumably, Superman’s death would have lasted for more than a couple of episodes before bringing the hero back in his weakened state. The show was originally envisioned to run for 7 seasons, and the showrunners have since revealed plans involving Brainiac were originally set to follow in later seasons, featuring a much more comic-accurate examination of the character.
Following Brainiac, the showrunners hoped to be able to bring in Darkseid. Todd Helbing spoke with TVLine about their plans, saying “I don’t know if DC would have given us permission to use Darkseid, but we would have pitched the hell out of it to try to get it.” With this in mind, it seemed that there was a great deal more planned for Superman and his family before their retirement. Unfortunately, these plans changed when season 4 became the final chapter of the series, requiring a different approach in order to make a satisfying conclusion to the series’ run.
Alex Garfin’s Superman & Lois Season 5 Idea Could’ve Been A Great Expansion Of The Show
Garfin’s Season 5 Pitch Played With Superman As A Religious Icon
Alex Garfin, who played Jordan Kent on the show, spoke with ScreenRant about the Superman & Lois finale, outlining a pitch that he made for a potential season 5 all the way back during season 3. Garfin’s pitch involved a new story that would also have featured Lex as the villain, with Garfin explaining that “Luthor is actually funding this organization that worships Superman like a God, because the whole thing with Superman is a little Jesus.” The organization would be like a cult that worshiped Superman for both his good and his bad actions.
From this, the perspective on Superman’s powers and the destruction that results from his battles would be given a much different look. Rather than being hated for his destruction, this group would worship Superman through it all, placing him above all else. They would contribute funds to fix the destruction that he wrought. Doing this, however, would be an attack on Superman’s humanity. Garfin explained: “You make him feel like a God, therefore people will fear him. You won’t be able to help in the same way.”
Superman & Lois’ Unused Season 5 Idea Would’ve Had Fascinating DCEU Parallels
Henry Cavill’s Iteration Of The Hero Was Examined Similarly, To Different Results
Henry Cavill’s Superman was adored by audiences – however, some of the takes on stories in that universe were controversial. Following Batman’s oldest rule being broken, much of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice examined the world’s response to a god-like threat such as Superman represented. Rather than excusing his actions, characters like Batman and Luthor, who saw Superman as incredibly powerful, set out to destroy rather than to elevate or forgive the Man of Steel.
This went into an interesting place in its subsequent team-up film, where it had become clear that the hatred and fear of Superman had turned into worship and love. Even that was proven misplaced for a time, however, when Superman was brought back to life and immediately fought the Justice League. In fact, much of Snyder’s vision seemed to be leading toward a similarly complicated outlook on Superman’s godhood, but was never quite able to get there. Instead, the godlike Superman of the DCEU was a focus for fear and hatred.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Still Explores Some Of Season 5’s Ideas
The Series Covered Some Of The Same Ground In Its Final Episodes
The storyline with Superman & Lois‘ version of Lex Luthor, and how he was able to twist events to fit in his own goals – including orchestrating the reveal of Superman’s identity to the world – resemble some of Garfin’s pitch. Examining Superman’s place in the world, and the outsized powers that he holds, was important to the final season of the show. The ways that Smallville actually stood behind Clark throughout the season, and confronted the incredible nature of his powers, was an excellent contrast to this elevated idea of the hero, examined in another way.
With an outsized hero like Superman, his powers can be looked at in different ways. Some will always look up to and draw inspiration from him, and how that manifests can vary depending on circumstances. A religious cult being introduced in the show and changing the world’s perception of Superman is an interesting idea that would have enormous repercussions on how the hero is seen in that world. On a different scale, however, Clark’s identity being revealed serves a similar purpose, allowing people to confront Superman’s dichotomous nature as both man and god however makes sense for them as individuals.
It would be incredible if Superman & Lois had been permitted to have more episodes, although it is also wonderful that the show was able to provide such an effective ending in season 4. The already-produced episodes of the excellent show will always be available as the DC Universe moves into exploring other iterations of the hero. While there is some disappointment tied up in never getting to see further stories of Superman & Lois examined, I’m glad we were fortunate to have such a high-quality version of the Man of Steel’s story leaving audiences wanting more.
