Less Krypton For New 'Smallville'

Fans can forget more visits to Krypton or from some other members of the House of El in the upcoming eighth season of The CW's "Smallville." According to executive producer Darren Swimmer, Krypton is the past and Superman is the future.

"I think we're moving away from the Kryptonian story," he revealed to TV Guide. "Last year we focused a lot on that and aspects of Clark's past. Clark can't escape his Kryptonian roots and that's definitely going to come back and haunt him this season, but this year will be more about moving forward with his destiny as becoming Superman in a way that we've never done before."

While the movement toward the Superman mythology may be cause for celebration for a lot of the show's fanbase, it does have one casualty: Laura Vandervoort.

The actress who played Kara of Krypton in the seventh season of the series has been reduced from series regular to guest star status in the new season and is expected to appear in only a handful of episodes.

Instead, more emphasis will be placed on the characters of Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Chloe (Allison Mack) when Clark (Tom Welling) takes up a job at the Daily Planet as a junior reporter. Meanwhile, Chloe will have a story of her own to deal with as her meteor induced powers take a sideways twist.

"She has powers, but they've changed," Swimmer teased. "They won't manifest in the same way that they did before."

Through the exploration of the toll her unwanted powers take on her personal life -- and with the full-time addition of Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) -- producers are hoping to tackle the question of duel identities and alter-egos. Not to mention, what truly makes a hero.

"It's a year of challenges that Jimmy's going to have to go through. Chloe's going to have to go through them. Clark will, too," Swimmer said. "It's the year of 'double identity.' That's the theme. Clark's starting to understand he's got to have a double identity or he's not going to be able to move on with what his destiny is."

Talk about this story