Clark Gets Dumped: Kristin Kreuk to Play Small Part in SMALLVILLE Season 8
TV's Lana Lang is leaving Smallville to be a Street Fighter.
Through a "brief debrief" on Facebook, Kristin Kreuk has put an end to fan speculation about Lana Lang's future in Smallville.
"I am in Bangkok for a few more months [filming Street Fighter]," she wrote. "So, no shooting of the Ville for me. I will return for a undetermined, although small, number of episodes in season 8."
After making it clear that she's not available to discuss these developments, she continued, "Obviously I have loved my time on the show, but I am equally as thrilled to move on to new endeavors... So thank you all for your really fabulous support and passion!!!"
"Kristin will be back for a portion of the season—-likely the first third," Smallville executive producer Al Gough told TV GUIDE's RICH SANDS, adding that contract negotiations for Michael Rosenbaum (right) "are just getting started. So there's no word one way or the other whether he'll be back next year or not."
According to MICHAEL AUSIELLO at TV Guide, Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor could return for anywhere from 11 to 18 episodes next year. But he called that the "best-case scenario."
Meanwhile, KRYPTONSITE reports that Allison Mack (left)has yet to sign on for Season Eight. Ausiello, however, insisted on 12th March that she will be back for "a minimum of 18 episodes," because uncertainty about Lana and Lex has made keeping Chloe Sullivan a "top priority" for the producers.
Even if Mack does agree to return for another year, TV SQUAD's BRAD TRECHAK wonders if the show can continue without the villain or the girlfriend. "It's not really Smallville anymore, is it? A more appropriate name would be Metropolis. They might be saving that for the spin-off, about a group of six twenty-something superheroes sharing two apartments across the hall from each other."
Ausiello doesn't believe they're ready for the spin-off yet. In fact, he's spread a new rumor about the "next major love interest" for Clark Kent (Tom Welling) by linking to the Wikipedia page of another famous "LL" from Superman comics lore, Lori Lemaris. The mermaid.