General Zod Cast on Smallville for Season 9

The CW television drama Smallville recently signed actor Callum Blue to portray the evil General Zod in the series' upcoming Season 9.

The character of Zod has appeared on Smallville before, but only as a spirit inhabiting another body. Zod possessed the body of Lex Luthor, played by actor Michael Rosenbaum, at the end of Smallville's fifth season.

Zod was dispatched by Clark Kent in the sixth season opener "Zod" and Luthor was returned to his body. In the finale of Smallville's Season 8 it was suggested that Zod had been freed again through a crystal found by Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman).

General Zod is a longtime villain of Superman from the comics, a military leader of Krypton who tried to overthrow the government of that planet led by Jor-El, Superman's father, and was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for his crimes. In some comics (and on Smallville) it is insinuated that Zod's plots led to Krypton's destruction.

Zod was famously portrayed by veteran actor Terence Stamp in the feature film Superman II. In a bit of intentionally ironic casting, Stamp has always provided the voice of the unseen Jor-El in Smallville.

Blue, 31, is an English actor best known for his work on several series broadcast on Showtime. Those include The Tudors, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and Dead Like Me.

In other Smallville casting news, actor Brian Austin Green has been confirmed to portray a different Superman villain, Metallo, for two episodes at the beginning of Season 9. Green played Derek Reese on the recently cancelled Fox series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Smallville has just completed it's eight season on the CW, with Tom Welling continuing to play Clark Kent as he has grown up and left the city of Smallville for Metropolis, where he is a mysterious hero so far known only as the Red-Blue Blur.

Smallville is moving from Thursday nights to Fridays for Season 9, as it tries to recover from fan fallout over the negative reception for the shocking Season 8 finale. In that episode iconic character Jimmy Olsen was killed off and then removed from the mythos in a strange plot twist.

For more info on the Season 8 finale controversy see:

Smallville Kills Off Iconic Character

Smallville Fans Furious Over Season Finale

Actress Allison Mack, who portrays the non-canon character of Chloe Sullivan on Smallville, has confirmed in offseason interviews that next season will be the last one for her character, while at the same time suggesting that Welling has signed on for Season 10.

Unconfirmed rumors continue to circulate of a spin-off called Metropolis, possibly a television movie project, where Clark would finally don the famous tights of Superman (and actually learn to fly). Nothing along those lines has been confirmed, however.

Superman II, which features Stamp's popular portrayal of Zod, is now available in a superior cut from original director Richard Donner. This version includes much material cut or re-shot in the finished feature film, including the performance of famed actor Marlon Brando as Jor-El.