"Smallville" Returns To Comic Con

Calling all “Smallville” fans – from Metropolis to San Diego! Series star/executive producer Tom Welling with the cast and producers of “Smallville” return to Comic-Con International: San Diego on Sunday, July 25, to celebrate the show’s 10th and final season as well as its final appearance at the world’s greatest pop culture convention.

Making his second appearance at Comic-Con, Welling will join showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, as well as series stars Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman and Justin Hartley, for the show’s panel session on Sunday at 10:00–11:00 a.m. in Ballroom 20 of the San Diego Convention Center. Featuring an exclusive sneak peek at clips from the final season’s premiere episode, the panel will answer fans’ questions and provide a look at what lies ahead on the acclaimed super hero series. Acclaimed writer/producer Geoff Johns (“Smallville,” chief creative officer at DC Entertainment) will moderate.

“Smallville” returns on Friday nights this fall, airing at 8/7c on The CW: The series premieres on September 24. In advance of the final season, Warner Home Video will release “Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season” on Blu-rayTM and DVD on September 7.

Joe Manganiello Should Be Superman!

With The Man of Steel still two and half years away that leaves plenty of room for speculation in casting, and in this case time for actors to campaign for the lead role.

The latest name to be tossed out there amongst the likes of Scott Porter and Chace Crawford is the very menacing and imposing figure Joe Manganiello. I'd say it's about damn time someone actually fitting the comic book representation of the iconic character is considered for the role.

Joe who's best known for his character Alcide on HBO's true blood and Flash Thompson in the Spider-Man films,  has recently gone on record saying he'd like to get back into film, especially as a superhero. He reiterated this in several interviews. He wants the role of Superman.

“I’m from Pittsburgh so the Man of Steel — it’s the City of Steel, so that would go a long way back home,” Joe said of his dream of wearing Superman’s red cape.

Talk about perfect casting. Joe's got the right build, height, weight, etc. The list could go on and on. He's our guy hands-down to don the red and blue symbol for truth justice and the American way. To make this even more surreal, he fits the exact criteria Warner Bros is looking for.They'll want someone relatively unknown who has a lot less resemblance Christopher Reeve and more to the actual character himself. I've yet to hear of another candidate to date that embodies the characteristics of Superman as well as Joe.

As it turns out Joe isn't the only one campaigning to land the lead role. Hard core fans have also started a facebook page to lobby for him landing the part.

Smallville Season 10 Premeire

The CW has announced that the Season 10 premiere for "Smallville," titled "Lazarus," will air on Friday, September 24 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET.

Also, IGN is reporting that a character is returning for the premiere episode and at least one more episode in the season. If you'd like to know who it is, just click here.

Press Release "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse"

Bruce Timm and his team of Animation gurus have put together another full length animated film featuring DC's two most prominent characters, none other than Batman and Superman!

Below is the official Press Release for Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, coming to Blu-ray and DVD on September 28:

To save an earthbound Kryptonian, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight unite once again – this time to battle the powerful forces of Darkseid – in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation. The highly anticipated, full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition Blu-Ray™ and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD as well as single disc DVD. The film will also be available On Demand and for Download.

Fan favorites Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Kevin Conroy (China Beach) return to their seminal roles as Superman and Batman, respectively. The celebrity-laden guest cast is headed by Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) as the daunting Darkseid. Sci-Fi heroine Summer Glau (Serenity/Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) provides the voice of Supergirl, and seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner (Up) reprises his Superman: The Animated Series/Justice League role as Granny Goodness.

Based on the DC Comics series/graphic novel “Superman/Batman: Supergirl” by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is produced by animation legend Bruce Timm and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) from a script by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tab Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist).

After a spaceship splashes down in Gotham City Harbor, Batman and Superman encounter a mysterious Kryptonian with powers as great as those of the Man of Steel. The Kryptonian is soon revealed to be Kara, cousin of Superman, who takes her under his wing to educate her about the ways of Earth. However, the villainous Darkseid has other plans. Seeing an opportunity to finally defeat Superman, Darkseid abducts and gains control of Kara, utilizing the powerful Kryptonian to do his bidding. It’s up to Batman and Superman to save Kara, but they’ll have to take the fight to Darkseid within his hostile world – where unknown, deadly threats lurk around every corner, including a brainwashed Kryptonian able to match Superman blow-for-blow.

In addition to the feature film, the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Special Edition Blu-Ray™ and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD include the third DC Showcase animated short, Green Arrow.  Screenwriter Greg Weisman’s story finds Oliver Queen at the Star City International Airport to pick up his girlfriend, only to be forced into action as Green Arrow to protect the 10-year-old Princess of Vlatava from his old nemesis Merlyn the Magnificent and the League of Assassins. The short features the voices of Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) and Malcolm McDowell (Entourage). Bruce Timm is executive producer.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Special Edition Blu-Ray™ will include more than 2 1/2 hours of intriguing bonus features, starting with all of the content available on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD and adding:
•    All-New Featurette: The New Gods - This documentary covers Darkseid’s story, particularly in reference to the adaptation of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. A primer on the wealth of material and stories contained in the New Gods series, along with a deeper understanding of why these characters – and especially Darkseid – are so memorable and important to the DC pantheon.
•    All-New Featurette Pods
•    Orion - The mightiest warrior on either New Genesis or Apokolips, Orion follows an almost Shakespearean arc culminating in the slaying of his father, Darkseid. This mini-featurette shines a light on this classically tragic character.
Mister Miracle - This mini-featurette focuses on the greatest escape artist the universe has ever known and how he was traded in a peace effort to be raised by Darkseid, the enemy of all New Genesis.
•    2 additional bonus TV series episodes handpicked by Bruce Timm
•    Digital copy on disc of the feature film

“Great things happen when powerful entities come together, and the partnership of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation is proud to continue this popular film series by once again uniting the two most popular characters in the DC Universe in a story that truly tests their strength, trust, loyalty, ingenuity and heroism,” said Matt Bierman, Senior Vice President Production, Warner Premiere.

"It is a testament to the larger-than-life nature of Jeph Loeb’s blockbuster storylines that two of the first nine DC Universe movies are based on his work," said Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment. "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse lets us see Superman and Batman in action side-by-side again, but this time along with Supergirl and one of DC's greatest villains, Darkseid."

“Just as Superman and Batman stand atop the DC canon of characters, so do the respective seminal voices of Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy in the hearts and minds of fans. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse will no doubt please comic-centric and mainstream audiences alike – particularly in the performances of Daly and Conroy opposite dynamic actors like Andre Braugher and Ed Asner, and fanboy favorite Summer Glau,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brands.

DC SUPER HEROES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

Summer Glau Voicing Supergirl in Apocalypse

TV Guide is reporting that Summer Glau will voice Supergirl in the upcoming Warner Bros animated feature Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. She should be a great addition to Kevin Conroy and Tim Daily as the fan favorites for Batman and Superman respectivley.

In the film, the latest in a Warner Bros.-produced series based on popular DC Comics stories, Glau plays Superman's cousin Kara, a mysterious survivor of the doomed planet Krypton who shows up on Earth. Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy reprise their roles as Superman and Batman, respectively, from the characters' animated series in the '90s and a previous DC movie, last year's Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Apocalypse is based on a 2004 comic book arc, written by former Heroes producer Jeph Loeb, which reintroduced Supergirl into the DC Comics universe. "I thought in the comic that Jeph Loeb had done a really good job of sticking to the basics of the origin story, but putting enough twists on it to give it a fresh feel," says executive producer Bruce Timm, widely considered the dean of superhero animation. Unlike the rocket that brought her cousin to Earth, Kara's pod was delayed in its arrival, leaving her in suspended animation until landing. When she wakes up she is not terribly happy to learn that Earth's yellow sun gives her powers far beyond those of mortal women. "Early on in the story she just wants to fit in," Timm says. "Unlike most people who suddenly attain superpowers, she's terrified of them. She doesn't want to shoot lasers out of her eyes and be able to lift buildings with her pinky."

Glau, an animation novice who is the fifth Firefly star Timm has worked with (following Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres and Morena Baccarin), quickly got a handle on the role. "It was a fun part for her to play because it wasn't one-note," Timm says. "She could be young and bratty, like a typical teenager, and then show a little bit more maturity, then get feisty, then scared. She's got quite a gamut of emotions to act out.