Actor Jon Cryer will soon bring iconic villain Lex Luthor to the CW's Supergirl, a casting choice that threw many fans for a loop. Now director Kevin Smith has weighed in on the choice to cast Cryer, who is mostly known for his comedic roles in films such as John Hughes' Pretty in Pink and the sitcom Two and a Half Men. However, Smith says fans need not worry that Lex will be funny in the superhero series.
Smith, who directed Supergirl's upcoming eighth episode, revealed on his Hollywood Babble-On podcast that he was aware that producers were hoping to cast Cryer as Lex long before it was announced.
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"I knew that a long time ago," Smith explained. "When I was working on my episode, they were talking about who would play Lex Luthor and his name as at the top of the list at that point and I know what they're doing with the character. Like, it's not humorous. It's a dark turn."
This season Supergirl's typical flashes of breezy humor have been all but absent as Supergirl and her allies have been forced to take on a domestic terrorist group that espouses anti-alien sentiment and calls itself the Children of Liberty. Things have grown darker and more dire as the group, led by the masked Agent Liberty (Sam Witwer), has started to put its beliefs into violent action.
Meanwhile, Lex's sister Lena (Katie McGrath), who's been a regular part of the cast since Season 2, has been growing more desperate in the face of the hate growing in National City, especially since boyfriend James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) made contact with the Children of Liberty
Lena's been experimenting with Harun-El, an alien substance, and recently learned she'd created an indestructible heart. Lena realized the potential of her discovery to give humans superpowers and level the human/alien playing field. As of the show's most recent episode, she was planning to go ahead with human trials — a disturbing development in a season of many disturbing developments.
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A dark take on Lex would fit right in with the show's current storyline, and Smith promised the addition of Lex to the series would be "really, really cool."
Fans will get to see Cryer in action when he makes his first appearance as Lex in 2019 on the 15th episode of Supergirl Season 4. Airing Sundays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW, Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, David Harewood as Martian Manhunter, Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen and Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers.
(via Comicbook.com)