Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS from the Superman & Lois series finale.Wolé Parks looks back on his legacy as Steel in the Arrowverse and returning for theSuperman & Loisseries finale in the final season of theDCTV drama. After 12 years of exploring a shared superhero universe on The CW,the Arrowverse franchisehas told its final story withSuperman & Loisseason 4. After four seasons, theSuperman & Loisseries finale brought Lois Lane and Clark Kent’s arc to a close with a shocking conclusion.
Throughout theSuperman & Loisseries finale, titled “It Went By So Fast,” Lex Luthor and the Man of Steel’s war kicked into over-gear, following Doomsday’s sacrifice. Despite having stolen Steel’s war suit, including new medications and upgrades by Milton Fine, it wasn’t enough to stop Krypton’s last son as Superman finally defeated Lex once and for all. While they dealt with their final threat,Superman & Loisseason 4, episode 10, had more than one surprise in store for the audience when it came to Lois and Clark’s journey.
DC Just Broke A Major Superman Rule For The First Time In 85 Years
The Superman & Lois series finale delivered an emotional ending for Tyler Hoechlin’s Man of Steel, which included a major Superman rule being broken.
Returning for a handful of episodes as part oftheSuperman & Loisseason 4 cast,ScreenRantrecently interviewed Parks about being back as Steel one last time for the emotionally charged series finale and bringing his character’s arc full circle. Parks shared his thoughts on the shocking ending to the series, the adjustmentsSuperman & Loisseason 4 had to make due to its many budget cuts, and John’s happy ending with Lana Lang. Parks also revealed what he would have loved to explore as Steel inSuperman & Loisand whether he might return in James Gunn’s DC Universe.
Wolé Parks Bids Farwell To John Henry Irons' Steel Legacy In Superman & Lois Season 4
ScreenRant: Have you been following through the reactions forSuperman & Loisseason 4 so far?
Wolé Parks: it’s funny, I attempt to have a very healthy relationship with social media and online stuff, so I don’t do a deep dive. I do a little bit of digging, but I know people have been receiving it well. One of my friends, who lets me know - he doesn’t wait for me to ask - is like, ‘Dude, this has been great, like a perfect season,’ although apparently he didn’t love one episode. I don’t know which one it was, but I think the thing I was telling people before the season even premiered was that, just based on reading the scripts even before we’re shooting, what Todd and Brent and the rest of the writers were able to do with the restraints they had [was amazing].
Because, they’re like, ‘Hey, we know that this show’s been going this certain way with an entire cast. Guess what? You’ll do the same thing. We’re going to cut your budget by a third, and you’re going to have less people to do it with, but we still want you to make a solid season!’ I know fans have been really happy with it. I was happy. I was shocked how good of a job they were able to do. So, that’s been good, it’s been great.
I don’t think any one of us ever expected the show ending this early, which is still so shocking to me. But the fact that the show just looked visually different in terms of the environment of people that we were used to seeing. I don’t know how much number-crunching Todd and Brent had to do, but I don’t envy their jobs.
Wolé Parks: Yeah, our line producer, Ian [Samoil], really is in charge of all that stuff. He was able to put it together too. The thing about any TV show, or not even just TV, but film as well, you see the actors, that’s who you see. And then, of course, like on the press tours, you’ll see directors, of course, but there’s a whole set of crew that people don’t get to see and without them, this show would be nothing - ever since day one, the visuals I looked at that, I was like, ‘How are they doing these visuals?’ And then going to season 4, how they [were] able to maintain that quality with another reduced budget. These people are amazing at their jobs.
I was not expecting to see, for example, Doomsday as much as we did, because I’m like,‘Okay, he’s gonna be brooding around for two episodes and he’s gone.‘But he became a little regular cast member himself this year!
Wolé Parks: He did! From what I understand, and again, I have rudimentary knowledge of this. I’m not a tech guy, but apparently they were able to do a lot of the the tech of building him before in season 3. They had the assets, so therefore that made it a little easier. It'’d be harder if suddenly this season, they were like, ‘Hey, we’re going to introduce Doomsday in season 4!’ But they already had the assets, and then Paul [Lazenby,] the stunt guy who does Doomsday [with] mo-cap, all that stuff is really, really good. And it’s, again, just people behind the scenes getting stuff done, it’s great.
Wolé Parks On Learning About The Plot To The Superman & Lois Series Finale
“I don’t get hit with the things until it’s happening…”
Can you take me back to the day of filming and getting the script for the final episode? Because I’m imagining that it was very emotional, or did the emotion hit once you guys got to the final day?
Wolé Parks: That’s a great question. I’m a person where I don’t get hit with the things until it’s happening because there’s always so much happening in life that for me, I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s a final script. Oh, wow, whatever. This is weird, but that’s later. We’re not shooting that right now.’ But shooting the episode and getting to the final scenes like… actually, now I’m starting to get emotional about it! We’re [a] really close family, I’ve worked on TV shows, not as many as a ton of people, like Tyler and Bitsie have done a ton more than I have. But the circumstance of this show where we all had to quarantine for two weeks and for the entire first season where we weren’t allowed to go back home, only for maybe a holiday - people miss[ed] funerals.
We bonded really well. So to what we did, which is really, really sweet, was like, people would show up on set, even if it wasn’t their day. Erik [Valdez] was there every day! I love Erik - Erik and Emmanuelle [Chriqui,] have the biggest heart of the cast, so everyone getting to see their final scenes and then giving a speech, and us doing that, and then everyone gets emotional. Even Tayler [Buck] got emotional, she’s like, ‘I don’t get emotional!’ and then she did! It happened to me. I was like, ‘You guys are not gonna get me! and then I got emotional. But I will tell you the most beautiful thing was the final scene…
The last shot with the stuff of Tyler and between the fantasy stuff and him seeing her in the dress, we were all there that entire day, and seeing it…oh God, I’m shocked I’m getting emotional from it! Seeing them shoot that scene, and us all being there till, 2 o’clock in the morning, I don’t remember and then Bitsie giving her speech, and Tyler gave a speech, and the crew. That’s the thing about the family we created on the show, or I should say, even behind the scenes, that’s something you can’t really recreate. It’s going to be really hard and I’m shocked that I’m crying a little bit from this so damn you Andy! [grabs a tissue and laughs]
It just shows how much you care about this. It wasn’t just a job, but a passion chapter for your life.
Wolé Parks: And for me, this is the biggest show I’ve done and the biggest character I’ve got to do. I got to ride with him for four years, and with these women and men. I’ve got to bond with him, become really close with [him] It’s crazy, and, we were talking before we started about, it would be nice if there were more seasons. Obviously we all thought when we first started back in the day - this is [during] COVID times in 2020, Mark Pedowitz is the head of The CW, and it was just a different kind of idea. We’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll go for many seasons!’
I think they were like, ‘You’ll go for seven seasons,’ so we thought we would have more time, but instead, we got four. But I’m just thankful that they gave us the fourth because they didn’t have to do that. And that would have really sucked for the series finale to be Doomsday and Superman [as the cliffhanger]!
If this had been the final shot and then The CW goes like,‘No, we’re not gonna bring this back, it’s going away with the rest of the other shows,‘it would have been so cruel!
Wolé Parks: I know! I give Todd and Brent a lot of credit because that’s balls to be like, ‘We’re just gonna do it. We’re gonna trust [that it] is gonna happen!’ Again, I’m thankful we did, even in the reduced capacity that it was. We sought out to tell the final season of the show, at least in our way, which is great.
Wolé Parks On Whether Or Not James Gunn’s Superman Played A Role In Superman & Lois’ Ending
Earlier this year, there was a story that emerged about why the show was coming to an end, and it was supposedly because Warner Bros. doesn’t want competing Superman projects. Were you told about that being a reason for it or is it more so that Nextstar is doing whatever it is they are doing?
Wolé Parks: That’s great question. I’m going to tell you I know as much as you do. It’s all rumors of speculation. Do I believe it? Sure, of course, why not? Would DC want a clean slate? James Gunn has this very big Superman project coming out, and it seems like everything right now is a universe. You look at HBO. I just watched The Penguin, which was amazing and that show is based on Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and, then The Batman 2, whenever that comes out.
It seems like very much they’re like, ‘We want these worlds’ and, and they were like, ‘Look, we’re kind of maybe tired of the CW version of it,’ Regardless of the quality of the show. These decisions [are] well above my pay grade. I have no control over it. Like I said, did it suck? Would we have like to go at least another season or two more? Of course, but you live with what you what you get.
Wolé Parks On Lana Lang & John Henry Irons’ Comic Love Happening In Superman & Lois Season 4
“I was pleasantly surprised about the amount of stuff that we got to do.”
You were talking about getting close with this cast and on that note…Lana and John get their final happy ending!
Wolé Parks: [Laughs] Can I tell you the funny thing about that? You asked me about what happened when I read the script? Keeping it real, because, with the way the show was working now, the only regulars on the show this season were the family and, Lex Luthor. All of us just popped in and out, so I literally, at the time, I was shooting Lincoln Lawyer [season 3], so shooting both shows back-to-back, when Superman & Lois shoots in Vancouver and Lincoln Lawyer shoots in Los Angeles.
Both line producers were working with each other, and I’m very thankful for that and all the producers. But I bring it up because in my mind, I’m like, ‘I’ll be in and out. I probably got three scenes, let’s just call it a day. This is gonna be done.’ And then I got the script. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a lot happening! Oh, we get married!’ I was pleasantly surprised about the amount of stuff that we got to do! [laughs]
Did you get Emmanuelle’s reaction when you had read it, like,‘Do you know what we’re doing?!’
Wolé Parks: I feel like Emmanuelle read it before me, and I feel like she hit me up. Because we shoot this in April? So that was, we probably got the script, then at the end of March, so Ifeel like, Emmanuelle got it, ‘She was like, ‘Did you see what happens?!’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ It was great, that’s really nice, the wedding scene, which was cold to shoot, by the way.
That didn’t look cold at all!
Wolé Parks: Yeah, great lighting! Like it wasn’t freezing, but it’s Canada. It’s April and the place where we shot that stuff, like the barn back then, it’s kind of the middle of nowhere, then over in Delta, over in Vancouver, and it’s just a place where we joked was like a vortex of wind - Emmanuelle, she looked gorgeous!
I was like,‘Oh my God, they got a little cute summer wedding!‘but alas…
Wolé Parks: [Once we] cut and the jackets come out, and again, people, like I said, who, behind the scenes are amazing, but take care of us. Like, Sonia, Jenna, all these other people, they’re great. So it was fun to shoot that episode.
I think John smiles more in that one episode than he has over the course of three seasons. Because these are the tropes with John Henry Iron - either his suit gets hacked or stolen….
Wolé Parks: Or and he gets beat up! John gets up beat up!
I’m kind of hoping that you would have called Todd and Brent, and be like,‘Okay, if I’m coming by, am I gonna get something good, like happy ending?‘I still love you getting to slam Milton into the table. I feel that was your frustration finally coming up, being like,‘You’re the last one to be taking my suit.’
Wolé Parks: No, you’re right, it’s so funny, because I remember, I think it was after season 1 when Natalie arrives, I’m like, ‘Oh, his daughter’s here oh my gosh!’ And I remember in my mind thinking, ‘Okay, great, so we’re going to build this character, the arc of season 1 was him getting over the hurt and the pain and his resentment against Superman. This is a new guy.’ That’s the idea of the character in my head, he went through a lot of PTSD in season 1, [which] was hard to shoot for me.
But then season 2, I’m like, ‘Okay, he’s going to become a little lighter, he’s learning to live life.’ And, like you said, it’s getting harder and harder. And then season 3, [with] Bruno Mannheim - ‘What is going on?!’ So it is funny, this is the first episode where he’s just like, ‘Hey, man, life is good!’
Wolé Parks On Steel’s Original Bigger Role In Superman & Lois Season 4
In the comics, Steel has a big role inThe Death of Superman, and theReign of the Supermen. If season 4 had been longer, were there any talks of trying to initially have you on for a little bit more in the absence of Clark while he was dead?
Wolé Parks: I will say yes, the whole idea of Steelworks and all this stuff, they were planning to do all that. The Death of Superman arc was going to be bigger than it is. They did a great job with it for season 4, there were bigger ideas out there. And then The CW and Warner Bros. were like, ‘You got one season, you got to reduce budget, so make it work.’ [laughs]
Even though it was a little compact, I was still not expecting a literal heart be ripped out and I’m like,‘You all can show this on The CW?’
Wolé Parks: here’s the interesting thing about that. It’s so funny, when the first episode aired, we did a group party, Todd hosted, it was great. We watch the first two episodes, and I was there and I asked, ‘Hey, did you guys plan this heart thing?’ Because I remember at the end of season 3, Lex, which I love that moment [when] he’s walking away and Doomsdaythrows Superman, and he’s like, ‘When you’re done, bring me his heart.’ I was like, ‘Yo, how coincident was that? Did you plan that?’
They had an idea, they were like, ‘We’ll probably use this [in the] next season,’ but they already have planted the sea because what if you were like, ‘Bring back his head,’ I’m like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ Like, I said, these guys behind the scenes who really think these things through. It’s something where even when they’re writing a season finale, they’re like, ‘Oh, what if we say this, because this theoretically could come back later on and affect these things.’
Wolé Parks On Lois & Clark’s Historical Superman & Lois Series Finale Ending
“[This is] the reason why I’ve always loved this Superman and Tyler’s portrayal.”
I was not prepared for a flashforward that was going to give us this much. What are your thoughts on the decision to show Superman and Lois Lane dying? You guys got a very unique ending, there’s no way for anyone to say.‘Well, this feels like what we saw in the Christopher Reeve movies, or the DCEU.‘You got such a special way to close out the show.
Wolé Parks: I agree…it’s funny. Did you ever watch Six Feet Under back in the day? It was a show on HBO, and it was about death. It was interesting, it was kind of a procedural, where every episode a person would die, because they ran a funeral home. Death was a throughline of the show, and they did the same thing, where [in] the series finale, you saw everyone die, which I was always fascinated because it went with the theme. So, it made me think of that when I read it.
But you’re right, it was completely unique to this genre, and [this is] the reason why I’ve always loved this Superman and Tyler’s portrayal. And again, I’m not saying it just because I like him, and I’m a friend of Tyler - I genuinely think he does a great job. I think he’s 100% absolutely amazing. Because, again, for me, Tyler has his own process, obviously, but I’ve always envisioned that he puts Clark first, and Superman is the alter ego. And I feel a lot of times, the way it’s been done is Superman’s the real guy, and Clark is the alter ego, just being like, ‘I’m really this buff guy. I was gonna beat up everybody, but I’m putting on my glasses to be quirky.’ I felt that this show has put Clark as the heart of the show, like Clark and Lois. That’s why I remember the flashback episode they did, where Lois is talking to her friend, and she’s interviewing Superman in season 1.
It’s so sweet, just Bitsie and Tyler and their chemistry, but I remember she’s like, ‘No, I don’t care about Superman, I like Clark!’ I think that’s been the whole idea of the show. So to loop back to your question about the ending, to me, what I loved about, it’s fitting. Ultimately, he gets to become human and, and he’s not used to it, because he’s been an alien this whole time, and has this unlimited power, but to sort of just become like everyone else, just to go old with his wife and the family, I think that’s what the show is about is the humanity behind everything. So I thought it was brilliant. Did I expect it? No, but I thought it was brilliant.
What do you think Lana and John’s life looks like in that flash forward? Obviously, first of all, you get your cape. You finally got your S! Because I remember the day when those set photos first came out, and I’m like,‘Holy!‘But what do you think John and Lana are up to in their future?
Wolé Parks: That’s a good question. I thought about it at all so, but I think my guess is, they have a blended family, which is interesting. Because she splits custody with Kyle of their two daughters. I think for them, they find a way to make it work. Because Lana’s in Smallville, John’s in Metropolis, at least when we when we end. I think it comes back to finding companionship and what happened was, both of them had separate spouses, and then that fell apart, and they kind of defined themselves on their own, and then they found each other at the same time. What better way when we’re both going through the same kind of hardship, to go through that together.
I don’t know if I would say if it fell apart for John, because he lost his wife to a massacre, so it wasn’t so much falling apart…
Wolé Parks: That’s the thing, he watched his wife die. By the way, a little trivia, insider knowledge: the original script of that, John was in the room when that happened. Originally, there was supposed to chaos, there’s a whole different script where that happened. The way they shot it was great, but there was an original thing where he’s there and seeing Lois, and the dark Superman comes, she looks at him, and they have this look like as he’s in the room.
Superman comes, because, the idea, where did John get the scar? What happens in that version of the script, Jai Jamison wrote that as well, Superman comes in, he sees that she’s there, he [heat-]visions the heck out of her and something happens, rocks start falling, and it falls on John’s face, so that’s how he gets his scar. That’s in the original script, which we never shot, and it got changed, but that’s originally what happens.
That’s a lot darker than I expected.
Wolé Parks: I know, I love dark though [when] I read [it,] I was like, ‘Yo, this is dark!’ I mean, it’s bright enough because he has to watch it with his daughter, but the original version, he has to be quiet because Superman’s gonna kill him. I think [John] passed [or got] knocked out, it’s a whole thing.
Wolé Parks On His Darkseid & Brainiac Theories For Superman & Lois In Potential Future Seasons
When you guys initially started, this show would potentially go as long as maybe season 7, and I know you’re a big comic book fan, so I was wondering, like, if the show had gone for a little bit, what are some arcs that you would have loved to explore with John specifically from the comics, or something just within the show’s continuity?
Wolé Parks: That’s interesting - for me, I was always like, ‘What villain are we gonna introduce for the season?’ I wanted them to do Toyman, it’s so random. We’ve seen Brainiac before, because I love the cartoon shows, Justice League and Justice League Unlimted, [those] were great. I rewatched [them] when I booked it. So for me, it was like where can we go with these things? I knew we would do the Death of Superman, and I was looking forward to it all. We already had the Eradicator, we had me, we had one of the boys who’s gonna become Superboy. We [didn’t have] Cyborg Superman.
I was like, ‘Oh we’re going to do that! Oh, Mongul is going to come! Actually, you know what I thought, and this is how dorky I am - when season two was going on, when we first started it, and they were going through the mines, the thing was happening where we were getting flashbacks of Bizarro Superman - I asked, ‘Todd, whoa, are these Boom Tubes? Is this a Boom Tube?’ Is Ally really Granny Goodness, is this what’s happening? Are we gonna get Apokolips?’ I went there and Todd was like, ‘Wow, that’s a great idea…not what’s going on, but I appreciate you thinking that!’ So that’s what I was just hoping more for that. I think we could have fleshed out more about John’s backstory, with the whole Bruno Mannheim of it all. I was hoping that there might be a doppelganger out there that’s still secretly alive but there’s only so much you may do.
Well, you must have lost your mind when you heard Tom Cavanagh was playing Gordon Godfrey.
Wolé Parks: I was so mad because I wasn’t [in] that episode, but what would piss me off is that nobody told me, I heard that Tom was gonna do it, but I didn’t know when I wasn’t there, because I would have came on set to watch Tom do this, because I love Tom. Tom directed a couple of our episodes. He’s so good, because he’s passionate, he’s got a ton of energy. He’s super smart and really creative. So I really wanted to be in the room to see that, but I missed it, but it’s fine.
I do remember that people were thinking Boom Tubes, Darkseid and stuff like that, and Tom, he’s literally playing a New God and I’m like, ‘Todd and Brent, what are you all doing to us? You can’t do this in the final three!’
Wolé Parks: Again, [on the] season 4 budget, this is the best, and that’s their version. That’s them being smart and calling out, like, he’s some kind of Brainiac, which, again, is a nod to the fans. It would be cool to see full on Brainiac, sure, but you may’t introduce Brainiac for two episodes. Brainiac is, like, a season long huge arc. Because you’re gonna have to create him like you did Doomsday, because Brainiac’s huge.
Did you ever seeKryptonon SYFY? They did do Brainiac, and they did it with an actor and makeup and all that.
Wolé Parks: No, no. How did it look? I heard that they did Lobo because I was looking that up too. I was like, ‘Oh, they haven’t done Lobo.’ Because I heard at the time, the rumor and maybe it’s true, that Jason Momoa might do Lobo. They were floating that out in the ether. I remember that they were like, ‘Oh they’ve actually done it before, and they did it on Krypton.’
Clark asks Lois in the finale,‘What do you think Superman and Lois Lane will be remembered for?‘I’m going to twist it a little bit for you and ask, what do you think John Henry Irons will be remembered for?
Wolé Parks: I hope that he’s remembered - and I’m excluding the Shaq version of this, all hail Shaq, I love Shaq, [but] we’re just gonna ignore the movie - as the first real live-action depiction of him. I think they did [it] in a really smart twist. So, I hope people feel like they and myself, did the character justice. I really pray that people got that and it was a grounded take. I like this sort of dark version, but again, I’m kind of dark in my head. of messed up. So I like the idea of he starts from there and goes through the anti-hero [phase], then he’s a hero. To answer your thing about the show overall, I think what we did was made the show about family, because Superman’s virtually impenetrable -they always seem to find Kryptonite. Kryptonite is always somehow available…
Especially for a planet that blew up, there’s certainly a lot of pieces of that!
Wolé Parks: They just get it from everywhere. I can’t wait to find out where we get into Kryptonite from in the new movie, because it’s gonna be Kryptonite! [laughs] But the whole idea is what affects everyone? What everyone can relate to is a heart and a connection and love. And I think that’s what they did really well, that’s what I feel like fans, having gone through reading the comments that I’ve read and how I feel about the show is, I feel like it’s some ultimately about connection and love and positivity and regardless of who you are, how much power, how much money you have, I don’t care for Elon Musk or whatever, like, you still have to have some kind of love and connection to people. I don’t care if you’re the poorest person in the world, ultimately, what I’d like to imagine bonds and binds us., so I feel like that was what they did with the show and I feel like they did it well.
Wolé Parks’ Advice To Future Superman Storytellers After Superman & Lois
“I hope that they make things more grounded and things that people can relate to.”
For future Superman storytellers, whether it is someone like James Gunn or whoever else tackles Superman next afterSuperman & Lois, if they learn anything fromSuperman & Lois, is that something you hope they learn from this show, to allow them to be grounded a little bit?
Wolé Parks: I hope so, because at some point, how much bigger can we make the things? If there is a thing such a superhero fatigue, which I believe there is, it’s always world ending doom. Like, ‘Oh, my God, we survived that, but here’s this even more powerful villain. How are we gonna get this guy?’ At some point, just punching bigger things gets boring. How much can we do because then it becomes CGI, and how much budget do we have to blow on stupid fights?
I feel like, ultimately, it should be about grounding things more, but also just more about things that people can relate to, because I can’t relate to a world ending conflict- I’m not going to relate to, ‘Oh, yo, the Avengers better stop something,’ because the Thanos [arc] was cool because it was good and peppered out throughout [the MCU.] If they put on the next huge [villain,] like Apocalypse from X-Men, if that comes in, I’m like, ‘Okay, but [he’s] virtually invulnerable. So what are we going to do there?’ I hope that they make things more grounded and things that people can relate to.
That’s whySuperman & Loisseason 3 is probably one of my favorite seasons, if not the favorite. Because who would have thought we would have someone like Bruno Manheim and Onomatopoeia just coming in and wiping house. Again,this is one human and a metahuman against Superman, and yet, he still had it challenging.
Wolé Parks: They did and props to them for doing that. Daya Vaidya and Chad Coleman, what they were able to do with those characters, and the way Todd and Brent wrote those characters, you feel for them! I think what I love about the show, and I hope this came through, is you get to see a lot of the villains [that] you get to understand and empathize with them. For me, the villains I love, are the ones I get to understand.
Even going back to Thanos, he’s like, ‘Look, I’m trying to save the world and the universe, because we’re going crazy, we’re eating each other. It’s too many people.’ I’m like, ‘That’s bad, the way you’re going to deal with it,’ but I can understand his idea. I could empathize with the idea of how do you save humanity, and the weird way they did it. I feel like having villains who you can relate to, makes them really, really good.
Wolé Parks On James Gunn’s DC Universe & What’s Next After Superman & Lois
We know that Aaron Pierre is gonna play him in the DCU.
Wolé Parks: And he’s gonna be great!
And he was onKrypton, by the way. But because I’m stubborn and not ready to say goodbye to you guys in this genre. If James Gunn came calling and saying, ‘Hey, come play ball,’ would you?
Wolé Parks: Specifically keeping in DC, I don’t know…Here’s the thing, whether it’s DC or Marvel or whatever. For me, it’s just about the idea of the character. What I loved about John Henry, his core wound of having to go through that. I did a lot of research on that, and PTSD, that’s why season one was hard for me because the character was going through a lot of PTSD. He’s trying to deal with all [of] his backstory, so for me, I just want to deal with a rich character who has goals, who has interesting backstory, who I can connect to, and then the audience hopefully connects to that. To me, that is what I want. I will say, I played a lot of darker, heavier things lately, and I like that.
I got a lot of crazy in my head, but I wouldn’t mind doing something a little nutty, I wouldn’t mind doing something a little more in the quirkier - like a Brooklyn 00, offbeat comedy, just for the fun of it, to shake things up, because I’m that kind of guy. I like new challenges, and comedy is so much harder than dramatic acting, in my opinion. That’s why comedic actors make great dramatic actors, but not necessarily the other way around. That’ll be something. What in DC could I do? Whatever it is, as long as they got a good backstory. I don’t care if it’s the most minor character. I don’t care if he’s not a superhero. But if we understand him, hey, I’m here for it.
At the top of my mind, I think you could be a great Martian Manhunter.
Wolé Parks: Oh yeah. Harry Lennix is the old one from the old Henry Cavill days. You go back to Justice League, when they did it with him, and he was like, ‘How do I have to basically learn to fit in here in your world,’ Justice League Unlimited was so good and the regular Justice League cartoon that Bruce Timm and all them did.
Carl Lumbly, what a GOAT.
Wolé Parks: That whole voice cast was amazing, Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor, I rerewatched this whole series. Do you remember an episode where Lex and Flash switch bodies? I remember Michael Rosenbaum, he takes off his mask [as Lex in Wally West’s body,] he’s like, ‘I have no idea who this is!’ [laughs] It’s just so funny that kind of stuff.
Well, it was trippy for me because I was watching him onSmallvilleat that time while I was watchingJustice League Unlimited;the producers must have done this because they kind of wanted to play into that.
Wolé Parks: That’s true, I wasn’t even thinking about it from that perspective. I literally never thought about that until you said that. That’s true. That is kind of ironic.
As you close this chapter, what is next for you? If there is anything you can tease
Wolé Parks: No, not right now, I’m just hitting the grind - I’ve gone into some good stuff, nothing has panned out. Unfortunately, like you and I were talking before we started, the industry, it’s in a little bit of a transitional period. So right now, it’s just getting out there more. The minute something cool happens, I’ll let you know, but now it’s just living life and considering continuing to pursue my passions, my dreams, but also stuff outside of the industry. I volunteer a lot do other stuff with my life, but we’ll see what happens.
Are you gonna finally volunteer to watch Shaq’sSteelmovie?
Wolé Parks: [Laughs] Every season, somebody asked me that, and I’m always like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah!’ I still haven’t done it. I will at some point. When, I don’t know, but it will happen.
Despite all the trauma and grief and suit hacking and stealing, I’m happy you were part of this. Because if we go back to season 1, I never expected that The Stranger was not actually Lex Luthor. They even reference that in this season, but you and Michael Cudlitz never got to have a scene about that!
Wolé Parks: No, and he directed episode 8, so it was great and we got to work together a lot because through that. But I agree. I remember the season finale of last year, I was like, ‘Oh, me and Michael, we gonna go at it! We gonna have a scene where we’re like, yo, what’s up? What’s up with you?!’ And here’s the thing, my guess, I’ve not talked to Todd and Brent about it, but I’m assuming that was supposed to happen. But then they get the notice that your budget’s getting cut, and your cast is going to be limited, so you’re going to have to work with what you have. But I agree that would have been amazing to to deal with. I was looking forward to it.
How was it with seeing someone else wearing your outfit?
Wolé Parks: It was funny, actually, [laughs] I talked to Michael, because I was like, ‘Hey Michael, how’s the suit?’ Because here’s the thing, on camera, it’s cool. When you’re a kid, you’re like, ‘Oh, you get to wear a super suit. That’s cool!’ The reality is thatsuit is hot, it is cumbersome, people make fun of me to like there was jokes throughout the entire show about, ‘Here comes Wolé!’ because I squeak when I walk.
There was episode in last season where I was supposed to - Jai had directed it - but when Peia, kills herself and Superman brings to the body, I forget what it is, either way, there was supposed to be a scene where, Bruno, his son Mateo and me were supposed to come out of there onto the roof. And the idea was that we’re all supposed to run out to the roof. But then they saw the version of me running, [laughs] Jai was like, ‘Here’s what’s gonna happen. We’re not gonna have you run. We’re gonna just have you just super-pose. You’re just gonna land into it.’ I said, ‘Great idea,’ because it was a mess! So the point is, I talked to Michael, who is like, ‘Yeah man, this is a lot!’ I said, ‘Exactly!’ but he did it and it was hilarious.
It seems like a lot of the time when you’re in the studio, you become the thing that lights up the set. I saw your little video you posted a few months ago where you are about to fly off and Bitsie was standing to the side and just couldn’t hold her laughter.
Wolé Parks: It’s cool when [it’s] on film, but in the actual moment, it’s the darkest thing, because it’s big and they know me. I don’t care. I’m way too comfortable, [if] I get tired, I want to fall asleep and take a nap. So catch me [being] on the ground in this big suit, trying to sleep, and you to use the bathroom. We got to have somebody come and take off the codpiece so I could go to the bathroom.
I wish this was going for longer, and I’m happy this journey happened at all, and I can’t thank you and everyone who’s worked their asses off for four years. Superman & Lois became like a pandemic show, and you guys still worked as much as you did, so I can’t wait to see what you’re doing next.
Wolé Parks: We had a show because of the fans, because if nobody watched, they wouldn’t have kept making the show. So I’m thankful because I got to go on a journey because the fans allowed us to go on the journey. So thank you for watching. I remember season 1, when they’d have two episodes, then we’d be gone for four weeks, and then one episode, then we could go [away] for three weeks because we were shooting, everyone’s getting COVID, we couldn’t share the shoot. We were there for 10 months shooting the show, it was nuts. So I know the fans have had a lot of patience, but they’ve just been really supportive. I’m so, so thankful, so thank you Andy for being a fan and a good supporter of us, and thank you for the fans for watching all these years. It does not go unnoticed at all. We really, really do appreciate it.
More About Superman & Lois Season 4
Season four of SUPERMAN & LOIS picks up right where last season left off: with Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Luthor’s monster locked in a ferocious, moon-wrecking battle, as Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) fights for his life against the seemingly unstoppable creature. Back on the ground, General Lane (guest star Dylan Walsh) struggles to stay alive after being kidnapped by Luthor’s henchmen, while Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), Jordan (Alex Garfin), and Jonathan (Michael Bishop) race against time to rescue him. But standing in their way is Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz) himself, who has permanently moved to Smallville as the next step in his malicious plan to destroy Lois Lane. Meanwhile, Lana Lang (guest star Emanuelle Chriqui) uses her position as Mayor to fight back against Luthor’s schemes, a move which puts her in the sights of the most dangerous man in the world and threatens everything she holds dear.
This includes her relationship with John Henry Irons (guest star Wolé Parks), who must put his Ironworks plans on hold and rejoin the DOD, now that General Lane is missing. But they aren’t the only duo in trouble, as Chrissy Beppo (guest star Sofia Hasmik) and Kyle Cushing (guest star Eric Valdez) face an uphill battle of their own, with countless roadblocks that threaten to ruin their future together. Amid all the chaos, Sarah Cortez (guest star Inde Navarette) and Natalie Irons (guest star Tayler Buck) also join the fight against Luthor, while both facing impossible decisions about their paths in life. And as Clark’s battle with the terrifying monster continues, Lois, her boys, and the world must face an unthinkable possibility: what if Superman never returns?
Check out our other interviews with moreSuperman & Loiscast members:
Superman & Loisseason 4 airs on The CW, with the final season coming to Max at a later time.
Superman & Lois
Cast
Superman & Lois follows the Man of Steel, Clark Kent, and journalist Lois Lane as they navigate the strains of contemporary parenthood while confronting threats from supervillains and alien invaders, blending personal challenges with heroic responsibilities in this 2021 television series.
