Tyler Hoechlin will return as Superman on the Supergirl season 2 finale and we're going to meet the DC TV version of General Zod!
OK, so there's no details to report yet, but there's one key piece of the Supergirl season 2 finale that has just fallen into place.
Here's the official synopsis for Supergirl Season 2 Episode 22, which has the awesome title of "Nevertheless, She Persisted."
Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) challenges Rhea (guest star Teri Hatcher) to battle to save National City. Meanwhile, Superman (guest star Tyler Hoechlin) returns and Cat Grant (guest star Calista Flockhart) offers Supergirl some sage advice.
Mr. Hoechlin appeared in the opening two episodes of this season, and did an excellent job as the Man of Steel. He brought the kind of easy confidence and charm that has been lacking from some other recent screen interpretations of Superman, and those two episodes were a bonanza of deep DC Comics and Kryptonian references for fans.
Now included in this synopsis is that General Zod is also coming to Supergirl! Mark Gibbon has been cast as one of the most iconic Superman villains of them all. While I've confirmed Mr. Gibbon's casting with Warner Bros., they weren't able to offer any additional details at this time. It will be interesting to see whether this is the TV Man of Steel's first encounter with General Zod or if the two have a history together.
What's interesting is that this isn't Mark Gibbon's first time interacting with the Superman mythos. Gibbon played one of the oil workers rescued by a pre-Superman Clark Kent in Man of Steel, and he appeared in several small roles on Smallville.
Check out the first images of Gibbon as General Zod:
The commander of Krypton's military has long held a grudge against the House of El, since Superman's father (and Kara's uncle) banished him and his cronies to the Phantom Zone. Hopefully this means he's bringing some of his Phantom Zone buddies along for the ride, too. Considering how well Supergirl handles the broader Superman mythology, I'm really looking forward to seeing how they play one of the biggest rivalries in Kryptonian history on the small screen.
General Dru-Zod has been around since 1961, first appearing in Adventure Comics #283, where he was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp. Zod has famously been brought to life on the big screen by Terrence Stamp (in 1980's Superman II) and Michael Shannon (in 2013's Man of Steel) and the small screen by Callum Blue on Smallville. Recent comic book interpretations of Zod have hewn a little closer to the movie versions, so there's a lot of room for Supergirl to get creative with the character.
The Supergirl season 2 finale will air on May 22nd.