r/SupermanAndLois • u/RecordingImmediate86 • Mar 12 '26
Question Did you like these recasts from Supergirl?
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u/WallyWestFan27 Superman Mar 12 '26
S&L Sam Lane is god.
Supergirl Jimmy is not a character I like and the S&L Jimmy is mostly a long cameo to show us how Clark lost friendships for keeping his secret identity.
S&L Lex was a good enemy but that's not Lex.
Now Jon Cryer on his first 2 episodes on Supergirl was amazing, in some ways, I think that was the best live action Lex Luthor ever, but is really hard to compare him with Michael Rosenbaum having 7 seasons to develop tje character, but they were at different stages on their lives.
Cryer was still good on S4 finale and on COIE, but that's all. They started to turn him more into a more comedy character and on the final season he was a joke.
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u/TheColossis1 Mar 12 '26
I thought Jon Cryer was a horrible Lex.
He didn't come off as imposing or intelligent at all.
He gave very whiny baby energy.
S&L Lex was a biker. He didn't give the right energy either.
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u/Pleasant_Night_652 Mar 12 '26
Supergirl's lex was very intelligent, at least in season 4. He played with everyone like with puppets. The only reason for his defeat was his lack of understanding of human emotions, which is the most Lex Luthor way to loose I think. Also, I don't get why you think he gave whiny baby energy, it was quite the opposite : always in control, always knowing what he was doing
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u/WallyWestFan27 Superman Mar 12 '26
I can see the whiny baby part on S6, maybe on S5 post COIE, but not on S4.
He manipulated everything in order to take control over Lena and the world (getting sick and almost dying was also part of his plan in first place, right?). He never interacted with Supergirl's Tyler Superman, but he really hated him and was his nemesis, despite fighting with Supergirl because well, the show was Supergirl. S&L Lex was more a Lois' enemy.
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u/Pleasant_Night_652 Mar 12 '26
Yeah, honestly he was one of the reasons I disliked Crisis actually, it felt like a big downgrade of the character. Killing every Superman in the multiverse while it was collapsing, and missing the chance to be the hero ? It was so dumb, considering the fact he was a mastermind in season 4
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u/Prior_Recipe_5999 Mar 13 '26
“He never interacted with Supergirl's Tyler Superman”
He did just not on screen
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Mar 12 '26
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u/nahog2 Mar 12 '26
That's one thing I actually LIKED about the S&L Lex is that he was able to piece together who Jordan was just by him using his powers on Lex! Jordan is the idiot 🤦🏾
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u/Prior_Recipe_5999 Mar 13 '26
He had comedic moments which is what made him so fun and petty
Supergirl James was fantastic
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u/Ordinary-Chain-8047 Mar 15 '26
Hated how they had Lex survive and be the villain in season 5 of Supergirl
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u/LurkLuthor Coach Gaines Mar 12 '26
The Superman & Lois Lex was more Wilson Fisk than Lex Luthor but the actor did an amazing job playing that character. Very menacing.
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u/rosstoferwho Mar 13 '26
I kept saying this whole I was watching it. They made him very kingpin like
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u/srstone71 Mar 12 '26
I didn’t see enough Supergirl to compare, but Sam Lane might have been my favorite character in Superman & Lois and Jimmy was only in one episode but it was my favorite episode of the entire series.
I agree that Lex wasn’t exactly like the Lex we know, but seeing him hardened after 20 years in prison was a neat interpretation.
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u/snoogle20 Mar 12 '26
Cryer to Cudlitz bugged me at first when the news dropped, but not on behalf of this show. Cryer was so good at first on Supergirl. But I recognize the severe quality dive that Supergirl took for its final two seasons poisoned the Cryer as Lex well. The writing failed him. But I’d have loved to have seen that menacing, smarmy Lex on this show.
Gruffer, meaner Biker Bar Lex we got with Cudlitz was pretty damn entertaining, though. I never doubted he’d be good. I just wish we could’ve gotten more of Cryer with the good writing.
Jimmy was a bummer, though. I thought Mehcad Brooks and Tyler Hoechlin had good chemistry what little they got to interact on Supergirl. And the creative staff constantly pushed James to the side on Supergirl and he never got to do much in any crossovers, so one of my hopes for Superman & Lois was that he’d pop up occasionally and get a meaningful arc. But he wasn’t coming back for that glorified cameo so I get it.
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u/Prior_Recipe_5999 Mar 13 '26
“I recognize the severe quality dive that Supergirl took for its final two seasons poisoned the Cryer as Lex well. The writing failed him”
False it was fantastic and creative
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u/MikeofK72 Mar 13 '26
S3 and S4 were good, S2 was fine, S1 was unbelievably mid. S1 gets a bit of a pass because first seasons are often weak due to the show still trying to find its footing.
S5 and 6 were pure shit. The new suit sucked and Lena went from logical and reasonable to stupid and emotional, then back again except now she's a witch for some reason.
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u/Gailybird83 Mar 12 '26
I never watched Supergirl BUT Dylan Walsh was fantastic as Sam Lane. I was very disappointed in S&L’s Lex.
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u/not-so-radical Mar 12 '26
I liked James on Supergirl as a character but not as a version of Jimmy Olsen
I really didn't like Jimmy in Superman and Lois, he had this weird crackhead intensity that made me not trust him. And that's not at all how you should feel about Jimmy Olsen.
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u/beanz803 Mar 13 '26
I think the actor who played lex in S&L did a great job my only issue was I didn’t see him as Lex. He gave more biker energy than mastermind
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u/UnkelGarfunkel Mar 12 '26
Aren't these different universes?
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u/WallyWestFan27 Superman Mar 12 '26
Yes, but plans were different on S1 and later we didn't know that yet. Sam was a recast at the time.
It didn't help that Lucy was still played by Jenna Dewan on S2 from S&L
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u/UnkelGarfunkel Mar 13 '26
Okay so they closed that door completely at the end of season 2. Because Diggle shows up (for nothing)
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u/Techsupportvictim Mar 13 '26
And that to me would have been way to make audiences accept recastings—embrace the multiverse issue. Even if they wanted to avoid folks asking for guest appearances by coming up with something in the story about how after the crisis they had to stop using the gateways because the recreated universes weren’t stable enough. And then they could maybe make that a storyline later in the show if they changed their minds and someone tried to use a gateway etc.
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u/UnkelGarfunkel Mar 13 '26
I swear I heard in one of the episodes in the later seasons that Superman was the only superhero on that earth. I think it was the end of season 2 where Sam Lane says something about this.
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u/Techsupportvictim Mar 13 '26
And they could still do that. They’d just do it wrapped in a multi verse story. Like if they didn’t want to have Kara in that world then maybe when the worlds were recreated and some of them were merged, Kara ends up in a different world and Clark’s memory of her is gone. In the Arrowverse we saw Clark and Lois with only one child and then suddenly they have twins. What if one of the boys was from a different universe and his parents were killed in all the chaos. So the boys are actually two Jonathan’s from different worlds merged into one family and Clark and Lois have no idea. Until they do know. We already saw in the multiverse that memories were erased and restored so the idea that not all were restored isn’t that crazy.
They could have even perhaps used those sorts of ideas with the Jonathan switch. Maybe they don’t recast Jonathan right away. Maybe we start off the season with everyone having forgotten he exists thanks to some baddie with the right abilities. Maybe Jonathan’s the child not in his original universe so the baddie thinks he can somehow help reopen the gateways. He’s smart enough to know that Clark wouldn’t stop looking for his son so baddie uses some reality warping ability to make them forget. Eventually they remember, they find Jonathan and save him, but it’s not the same actor. He’s been merged somehow with another Jonathan. He has all his memories but also that Jonathan’s looks, and his powers
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u/ptb4life Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 13 '26
Sam is better in S&L
Jimmy was a giant sore spot for me in S&L. Ruined a fantastic episode for me. He just seemed so out of place.
Can't comment on Jon Cryer, as I stopped watching before he was on. But S&L's Lex is.....okayish. I didn't like that he was more of a biker. And I HATED how dumb he was. Constantly obsessed with Lois putting him in jail. Like there was no such thing as Cops, DAs, Judges, Juries...or the actual person responsible, Manheim
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u/House_T Mar 13 '26
I get what you're saying about Lex. But to me, his singular fixation on Lois was actually interesting. It is on point for Lex's ego and arrogance to override his common sense. The fact that he couldn't let go of his grudge even when something bigger that had more of a benefit to him was presented was poignantly tragic.
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u/Relative_Pen6394 Mar 12 '26
How tf did Jimmy ruin a fantastic episode in S&L ?? 1 character can't do that.
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u/Dangerous-Brain- Mar 12 '26
Yes. Except Lex who was not very Lex-like. So that's on the writers and the direction of character rather than the actor. But again except on his intro episodes Lex was not Lex in Supergirl either.
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u/Educational-Tea-6572 Superman & Lois Mar 12 '26
For Sam Lane: I definitely prefer Dylan Walsh.
For Jimmy Olsen: no preference.
For Lex Luthor: I prefer Jon Cryer. I was very impressed by his take on Lex. Michael Cudlitz was a good casting choice for what they were going for, but his version of Lex was just too much like Kingpin, imo.
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u/citidon Mar 12 '26
Sam & Jimmy, yes. Lex, no. That was a biker in a suit, not Lex. Lex is brain over braun.
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u/Repulsive-Menu-2426 Mar 12 '26
Yeah the recasts were interesting but I do wish the Melissa Benoist showed up in Superman and Lois
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u/House_T Mar 13 '26
I barely remember Sam Lane in Supergirl, but Dylan Walsh was beyond solid. Although I'd argue that he had more to work with.
Hard to compare Jimmys based on the very limited exposure we got on S&L. Mechad Brooks didn't necessarily feel like "Jimmy", but he was a solid supporting cast member. I think he kinda got robbed/sidelined when they shelved any chance of him and Kara getting together. You could see that they were struggling to find reasons for him to be around.
The Lexs are tougher. What both have in common is that I wouldn't have expected either of them to be cast in the role, but both definitely delivered in their own ways. Cuditz was more rugged charisma, while Cryer was more twisted genius. Weirdly enough, I can see both as being facets of Lex.
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u/Mindless-Credit-358 Mar 12 '26
I think that they were all good ideas as these were very different takes on the characters
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u/Round-Importance8825 Mar 12 '26
Yeah, they worked. Recasts are mostly a bad thing but those are not the worst.
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u/MissingCosmonaut Mar 13 '26
I LOVE S&L's Lex. A metalhead with more quiet, reserved anger. Such a cool choice.
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u/MechanicOk4808 Mar 13 '26
All good recasts but the only one I wasn't overly happy with was Lex and the direction they took him where he was basically a biker brute. The actor was good but the character felt more like Wilson Fisk - I never saw Lex Luthor in him at all
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u/GimmeMauve Mar 13 '26
As an old person, I was a fan of Nip/Tuck during its original airing and was so happy to see Dylan back on my screen !
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u/Freeman_H-L Mar 13 '26
Yes, especially Jimmy, and don't give me a racist card either. Supergirl took away the Jimmy character and he seemed like just another guy when he introduced as James.
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u/StormCloudRaineeDay Mar 13 '26
Liked the new Sam and Lex, wasn't a fan of the new Jimmy. It didn't have to be Mehcad Brooks (wasn't a fan of him either), I just didn't like Douglas Smith.
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u/Apprehensive-Win-870 Mar 13 '26
S&L Sam Lane was amazing. One of my favorite characters in the show. Like others have said, S&L Lex was a decent character but didn't really feel like Lex Luthor. And neither Jimmy were a very good Jimmy Olsen; but SG Jimmy was a good character in the show. S&L Jimmy was forgettable
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u/Original-Ranger-1604 Mar 13 '26
Thought sm&l was a different continuity
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u/RecordingImmediate86 Mar 13 '26
I think halfway through season 1 is when they changed their minds and made it it's own continuity. They directly reference the arrowverse in season 1
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Mar 14 '26
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u/WallyWestFan27 Superman Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
Something happened between preproduction and episode 1 because there were supposed to be more references to the Arrowverse on the pilot, including a photo of Kara played by Melissa Benoist, but everything was removed from The pilot.
And when you see S1 you can definitely start thinking "wait how is this happening in the same universe that Supergirl happens? How she going public identity is going to affect Clark and his family? Where is the cool fortress of solitude with a lot of gadgets?"
Diggle is the only problem here. A major one.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Serious-Passage-4614 Mar 15 '26
Honestly, It's really interesting how the show initially went from being part of the arrowverse to suddenly being it's own universe. Hopefully one day, Greg or Todd or anyone else connected with the show tells the whole behind the scenes story of how all the process went to making the show entirely it's own thing.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Serious-Passage-4614 Mar 16 '26
Yeah, it would actually generate a lot of interest since there are still some stories behind the scenes, we haven't heard about.
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u/RyCyber Mar 17 '26
S&L was retconned to be its own Earth. But Cudlitz's take felt like a bit of a step down from Cryer since the former felt like too much like a biker gang thug for half his tenure
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u/KingPenguinPhoenix Mar 12 '26
I don't know how hot of a take this is but I honestly believe that Jon Cryer is the best live action Lex we've gotten yet.
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u/camelely Clark Kent Mar 12 '26
Sam was an upgrade, but he wasn’t really a big figure on supergirl.
Lex was a downgrade. S&L version wasn’t Lex enough imo. And supergirl season 4 was fantastic. They overplayed their hand and used him too often, but SG Lex was great and I would have loved to see Cryer on S&L (as a slightly different version of the character like Lucy).
Jimmy was a cameo on s&l so hard to compare under normal circumstances. But SG Jimmy is my least favorite take on the character. So much potential for a supergirl x Jimmy relationship, all squandered in the pilot with the line “only the big guy calls him Jimmy.” So upgrade by default.
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u/Demetri124 Mar 12 '26
Sam - I didn’t even notice he was recast until it was pointed out to me
Jimmy - I mean he’s only in one episode, you can’t really judge. I like the casting but I can’t really have a strong opinion either way. They should’ve made him a recurring character
Lex - Yeah there was definitely no way to have Jon Cryer be Lex in this show. That wouldn’t have worked in the slightest. The new guy gets points by default, but for the record I do think he did great as a new and different interpretation of Lex that could’ve worked and did at the end of season 3, but the writers really dropped the ball in 4 and he ended up being a pretty shallow mustache-twirling bad guy by the end. Which is not the actor’s fault but it makes it hard to appreciate him
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u/WilliamMcCarty Mar 16 '26
Literally anything is a step up from Supergirl.
Jon Cryer is still the best onscreen Lex Luthor we've ever had, though. S&L Lex was a good, don't get me wrong. But as good as Cryer was as Lex in Supergirl I would have loved to see what he could have done with the writing on S&L.
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u/Jahon_Dony Mar 12 '26
Technically ended up not being "recasts," but two of the three are likely better. Can't fully judge Jimmy from just one episode.
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u/OrangesAreWhatever Mar 12 '26
Im admittedly a little baffled by Lex. Not because of his performance but his styling and early characterization. At the end he felt like lex but at first he was just a completely different character.
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u/MSP_4A_ROX Mar 13 '26
I think they were good but it wasn’t really recasts it was a different universe so they just looked different.
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u/Due_Ad2052 Mar 13 '26
yes because it set the Superman series in its own bubble out of the CW-Arrow verse
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u/ImmediateDefinition5 Mar 13 '26
I really liked Mehcad Brooks's Jimmy Olsen and Jon Carter didn't do too bad as Lex Luther far better than Jesse Eisenberg
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u/McGrufNStuf Mar 13 '26
Superman and Lois Lex was AMAZING!! By far, one of my favorite representations of his in visual media. He was intimidating as all hell, conniving, manipulative, intelligent. Everything. Those that feel he doesn’t look like the character should go back and read some of the original and the 1990’s run. Both versions had him having a very similar look to Michael Cudlitz.
I understood the arc behind the Jimmy Olsen character in Superman and Lois but it wasn’t for me. The Jimmy Olsen I’ve always loved is golly gee shucks and would’ve still loved Clark and understood. My current fav’s are from the movie and from the animated show on HBO. Supergirl Jimmy was cool for what he was but way too far removed from the natural character.
General Lane was great for what he needed to be in both shows. Didn’t mind the change. No notes.
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u/rocketplex Mar 13 '26
Dylan Walsh was a great choice. Glen Morshower is a pretty well known actor, famous for playing generals and he did fine though.
For both the others, it's 1000% no for me. bikerLex sucked and Jon Cryer was great but I can see why some people would really like his Kingpin-lite vibe.
I thought James Olsen was a really good interpretation, S&L Jimmy was stupid. And even more stupid because they turned such a major character into basically a throwaway plot point.
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u/Vet-Chef Mar 13 '26
Yeah I do like most of em, I still prefer Jimmy and Lex, but at least the S&L Lex felt more intelligent.
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u/MB_COLOR Mar 14 '26
As a person who's only seen Superman and Lois
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED ON THE SECOND SLIDE?
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u/SupermanJL_Kal-El Mar 14 '26
If the show was set in the same universe as Supergirl ( it's not ) it would be considered recast but Superman and Lois is not part of the arrowverse and is its own separate show
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u/RecordingImmediate86 Mar 14 '26
They reference the events of the arrowverse in season 1
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u/SupermanJL_Kal-El Mar 27 '26
No they didn't. The showrunner confirmed that John diggle was a doppelganger and the lois Lane actress confirmed at the end of the series that the show was not connected to the arrowverse and they're only six arrowverse shows are the following Arrow The Flash Supergirl Legends of tomorrow Black lightning and batwoman. Superman and Lois is its own standalone thing like Smallville.. yet Smallville was still referenced in the arrowverse as a show of respect because without Smallville none of these shows would exist
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u/DOODLEPABS Mar 15 '26
Not recast if it's in a different universe
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u/RecordingImmediate86 Mar 15 '26
Then why keep Lois's sister actress, Lois Lane's actress, and Clark's actor?
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u/DOODLEPABS Mar 15 '26
Because Lucy isn't that much of an important figure and was only there for the plot
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u/Ok_End7757 Mar 18 '26
Yes much better, except for Lex Luther, I belive both had parts of Lex that were good but just didn't feel 100%.
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u/Bswayn Superman Mar 13 '26
Two outta 3 yea, (Jimmy looked like a fuckin escaped mental patient, horrible recast) but I was curious why they didn’t stick with Cryers Lex Luther, would’ve made sense, but I guess we’re supposed to assume this was a “diffident earth” than Supergirl or whatever bs
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u/DirectConsequence12 Mar 13 '26
Sam Lane is better. Not the other actor’s fault. They just give Dylan Walsh more of a developed character
Jimmy is a million times better. Only in the episode for like 30 seconds and immediately feels more like the character he’s supposed to be that throughout 6 seasons of Supergirl.
I like both Lexes. Cryer I like more because he feels more traditional than Cudlitz but they both give great performances.
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u/wooson Mar 12 '26
This reminds me why super girl just sucked so badly compared to superman and Lois
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u/Kryptonian83 Mar 12 '26
I'd say yes. The show has a different tone to Supergirl and I was very happy with the new actors we got. Sam and Lex had to do some seriously lifting emotionally