Supergirl officially has a Superman for its second season: Tyler Hoechlin.
Kara's more famous cousin will join her on the first two episodes of the second season of the show, which recently moved from CBS to The CW.
Who is the man behind Supergirl's Man of Steel? For many, Hoechlin might seem an unfamiliar face, but he's already made a name for himself in genre TV as werewolf Derek Hale on MTV's hit series Teen Wolf.
Now, though, Hoechlin has even bigger shoes to fill.
"[Executive producer] Greg [Berlanti] and I have wanted to work with Tyler for ages, so this worked out perfectly because Tyler is Superman," Supergirl showrunner Andrew Kreisberg said in a statement, as reported by TV Line. "We are so thrilled and humbled to add another amazing actor to the legacy of this iconic character."
Although Hoechlin has a few credits listed on his IMDB page before his first major film role, he didn't really come into his own until he portrayed Michael Sullivan Jr. in Road to Perdition on the silver screen. That led to other roles, including a recurring one on The WB's 7th Heaven (the network that, ironically, eventually became The CW). Other parts followed, but Hoechlin immediately became a standout once he took the role of Derek on MTV's Teen Wolf.
What most might not know, though, is that Hoechlin was also an accomplished baseball player in college. However, he started acting when he was nine, and now, he just landed the role of a lifetime as one of the most well-known superheroes in the world.
Although Hoechlin will become Superman for television (with the likelihood of returning to that role from time to time), Henry Cavill remains the Man of Steel in the movies. DC continues to insist on keeping its film and TV universes separate, although many fans question if that's such a good idea, especially considering how well Marvel has done in combining its TV and film properties.
While many fans insisted that Supergirl have Smallville's Tom Welling as Superman, it seems that it wasn't in the cards. The show does feature several other "super"-related actors, though: former Supergirl Helen Slater portrays Kara's adopted mother, with former Superman Dean Cain portraying her adopted father.
The second season of Supergirl will premiere on The CW this fall and will have the same time slot it had on CBS: Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
Photo: Kevin Winter | Getty Images
