Michael Rosenbaum Addresses Future In James Gunn’s DCU After Superman Cameo
Andy Behbakht has worked as an entertainment journalist since 2010, covering all the latest in Hollywood on both the big and small screens, from staying on top of the biggest breaking news, analyzing movies and television shows in Hollywood, to in-depth interviews with actors and storytellers.
Andy's career includes having worked for publications such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It's Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more. Outside of his career as an established reporter, Andy is the host and producer of The Showrunner Whisperer, The Flash Podcast, the editor-in-chief of Multiverse of Color, and the network director of DC TV Podcasts.
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EXCLUSIVE: The DC Universe is no stranger to legacy casting.
The DCU's Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters" is bringing fresh takes of various heroes and villains to life through film and TV shows in James Gunn's superhero reboot. However, as new stars are tackling some of the iconic characters, the franchise has also tapped various actors who have a long history with the DC brand.
During an exclusive interview with ScreenRant's Andy Behbakht for the 25th anniversary of Smallville, Michael Rosenbaum, who starred as Lex Luthor in the DC TV prequel, also had a voice cameo in 2025's Superman as one of the Raptor Guards, was asked if there is a possibility he could have a larger role in front of the camera in Gunn's DCU, and if there are other DC characters he would like to play. He began by stating, "I've done a lot of animated voices for a lot of characters in the DC world, but I haven't done much in the Marvel world. I did Guardians of the Galaxy, with a small role as Martinex in 2 and 3."
However, Rosenbaum stated that "I would love nothing more than to be a part of that. It's an incredible world. When I think about the character I would love to play, whether it's animated or live-action, I think about Riddler. Something where I could really be - not Lex Luthor, but somebody who can snap." The Smallville cast member also expressed how, "at the same time, I'd love to play a superhero. I'd love to play one of the good guys. I was the voice of the Flash in Justice League, and I loved it."
He also shared, "It's funny because you do a role like Lex Luthor, and you're thinking, "The offers are gonna come now that they know I can play this kind of character," but there's still that stigma. It's like, "But he was on a show, and now we're doing the movies," and the crossover isn't what we hoped it would be by now. But I would definitely love to delve into that. I'd love to play another villain, or to play a superhero."
Wally West is one of the many DC roles that he has voiced throughout his career, and while he was not one of the legacy castings to happen on The Flash TV show, Rosenbaum shared the following after being suggested during ScreenRant's interview that one way he could play the Scarlet Speedster in the DCU is if he time travels from the future to the DCU's present:
Michael Rosenbaum: I think they knew that I didn't want to come in as a guest star. They were very interested in me for Superman and Lois, and they were interested in me for some of the other shows, but I just wasn't interested. In my mind, I was Lex, and there can't be another Lex. In the multiverse, when Tom went back with Erica and they did that whole thing, they asked me to come back, and it just didn't feel right to me. I didn't know much about what they were going to do, and they wouldn't tell me.
So, I was like, "If I don't know, I'm not going to do it." In fact, I've never really been a guest star on a show. It's crazy. Maybe in the past, once, a long time ago. But it's not that I'm opposed to it. It's that the right role hasn't come along, where you know I connected to it and thought, "I could really add to this." I loved playing Lex. It was a dynamic, larger-than-life character, and I wanted to keep him grounded and real. He had emotions, and I wanted you to care about him, and I would like to bring that to another character. So, we'll see what happens.
With multiple upcoming DCU movies and TV shows in the works at DC Studios, there is plenty of time for Gunn and Rosenbaum to reunite once more, as DC Studios continues with building out their franchise. As the two of them are also good friends, it will be exciting to see if the Smallville star at some point gets to play a new character, especially if it's as a hero.
Smallville is available through home media release, while streaming on Hulu (via Disney+.)
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Smallville
8/10
- Release Date
- 2001 - 2011-00-00
- Network
- The WB, The CW
- Showrunner
- Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Brian Peterson, Kelly Souders, Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer
- Directors
- Mike Rohl, Jeannot Szwarc, Glen Winter, Terrence O'Hara, Whitney Ransick, Mairzee Almas, Paul Shapiro, Rick Rosenthal, David Carson, James L. Conway, Chris Long, Michael Katleman, Morgan Beggs, Allison Mack, David Barrett, Marita Grabiak, Michael W. Watkins, Philip Sgriccia, Rick Wallace, Thomas J. Wright, Todd Slavkin, Brad Turner, Charles Beeson, Craig Zisk
- Writers
- Steven S. DeKnight, Holly Henderson, Don Whitehead, Caroline Dries, Mark Verheiden, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Philip Levens, Jordan Hawley, Kenneth Biller, Michael Green, Drew Z. Greenberg, Geoff Johns, John Chisholm, Drew Landis, Julia Swift, Doris Egan, Tracy Bellomo, Garrett Lerner, Greg Walker, Russel Friend, Shintaro Shimosawa, Tim Schlattmann, todd helbing
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Clark Kent
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Chloe Sullivan
Smallville chronicles the journey of a young Clark Kent during his teenage years on Earth. The series explores his challenges and development leading towards his destiny as iconic hero Superman, set against the backdrop of Smallville, Kansas.
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Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the first movie in Warner Bros.' rebooted DC Universe to center around the titular comic book hero. It introduces a new version of the Man of Steel after Henry Cavill's departure from the role, honoring the character's roots as "the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way."
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.