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In a world full of people like Dexter Morgan and Walter White, be more like Superman.

That’s what Tyler Hoechlin was thinking when he agreed to take the role of Superman. He originally appeared as a guest star on Supergirl, before making a few return appearances and getting his own spinoff, Superman & Lois. According to Hoechln, the actor had noticed a trend in television characters becoming darker and grimmer, so he gravitated towards Superman and his hopeful outlook.

“It’s one of the great honors and great privileges that we have doing what we do,” Hoechlin says during a panel at Terrificon 2025.  “I will say one of the reasons why I was very excited to come back and play this character, especially on our show where we really got to dive deeper into their lives, is what they stand for. I think when I first took the role on Supergirl, at least at that point in my life, it was a time where I noticed that the focus of a lot of things was 'Let’s explore the dark side of this.'”

“I was really into all that stuff, and I enjoyed those projects, but there was a moment where I was like, 'You know, I would just like to do something that’s just shamelessly hopeful all the time. I just would love to sit in that for a minute.' It is something I appreciated about the character very much, so it was definitely a draw.”

Superman & Lois is streaming on HBO Max

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU.