Tyler Hoechlin fans, especially those who know him from his steamy (often shirtless) work on Teen Wolf, are squeeing with joy after today’s announcement that the actor will be donning tights as Superman on the CW this fall.
Hoechlin is joining the cast of Supergirl according to Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg, “Greg (Berlanti) and I have wanted to work with Tyler for ages, so this worked out perfectly because Tyler is Superman.”
Hoechlin’s fans seem to agree.
@Iris_2amclub- Fuck yeah couldn’t be more happy with the choice for who’s going to be playing Superman on #Supergirl this fall #TylerHoechlin ????
@AlphaObsession – Im completely utterly 100% ecstatic bout this!#TylerHoechlin
‘Supergirl’ casts ‘Teen Wolf’ star as Superman https://t.co/SoExigkhqH via @EW@bumbumgirl – He was my ONLY pick when I heard they were casting! #TylerHoechlin #Superman https://t.co/3afP1hHTNX
@ColtonLHaynes – So happy for my bud @tylerl_hoechlin !!! Ur mom kinda told me b4 u did lol. We already knew u were Superman in real life, now it’s real!??
@feelsforsterek – Tyler Hoechlin is gonna be Superman on @supergirlcbs! I am so happy??✨ https://t.co/bIg2Ait1S0 @TylerL_Hoechlin pic.twitter.com/uF99BssrFY
Superman sort of appeared in the show’s first season but we only ever saw his hands or a streak of blue and red across the sky. It was believed at the time that the powers that be at Warner Brothers didn’t want to mix media too much with their planned DC cinematic universe and forced limitations on Superman’s inclusion on the show. It appears that thinking has changed.
Casting Hoechlin means producers can now integrate the character into the show more fully. “We are so thrilled and humbled to add another amazing actor to the legacy of this iconic character,” Kreisberg says.
Hoechlin becomes the sixth actor to portray the man of steel in live action on television and the first since Smallville ended its run in 2011.
- George Reeves (Adventures of Superman)
- John Haymes Newton (Superboy)
- Gerard Christopher (The Adventures of Superboy)
- Dean Cain (Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman)
- Tom Welling (Smallville)
Hoechlin is best known as Derek Hale on MTV’s Teen Wolf in its first four seasons. He most recently appeared in Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!
You can also see him in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, 7th Heaven, Road to Perdition, Hall Pass and Solstice.
Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist and is moving from its first season home on CBS over to the CW in the fall. This will allow producers and the network to more fully take advantage of their other DC Comics-inspired shows, Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.
With the addition of Superman, the network has what amounts to a Justice League of sorts (like a Justice League Detroit maybe) but it’s unclear how much crossover they plan to do. The Flash season finale seemed to set up a “Flashpoint” scenario which was a major crossover event in DC Comics but everything on that front is still just speculation.
