Erica Durance on the 'bizarre' Smallville reunion in 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'

Arrow type TV Show network The CW genre Superhero

In the early stages of planning “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” there was an idea that the crossover could be about more than just the Arrowverse.

“One of the things that we said very, very early on in the pitches to the studio and the network is that this can’t be ‘Crisis on CW Earths,’” crossover executive producer Marc Guggenheim tells EW of the forthcoming adaptation of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s comic book event series. “This has to be ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths,’ and we have to touch as many strands of the DC tapestry as possible.”

That edict, combined with the notion that the entire multiverse is at stake in the crossover, ended up giving DC fans something they’ve been dreaming of since the inception of the Arrowverse: the integration of Smallville.

Image zoom Dean Buscher/The CW

“It’s a little bit of a look into their future and the different choices they’ve made to be together,” Durance tells EW. “It’s a full-circle moment that’s really nice.”

Durance isn’t a stranger the Arrowverse, seeing as how she plays Supergirl’s (Melissa Benoist) mom, Alura (and will also portray her in the Supergirl hour, which kicks off the crossover). But she was still surprised when the producers reached out about stepping back into Lois’ shoes so many years after the show went off the air.

“My first thought was like, ‘Really? How are you going to manage this?’” says Durance. “But the writers are just spectacular about how they can pull all the different shows together and all of these different characters, and they make sense of all the timelines. So I was at first very, very curious to see what it would be, and getting to actually go out and do it, I of course was very excited to go back and get to play Lois again.”

Her first day back on Smallville’s Kent Farm set with Welling was weird, but in a good way. “It was bizarre [because] it felt like we hadn’t missed a beat,” Durance says. “It was just easy. It was like coming back in and working with family. It was a little bit bizarre because we went back on somebody’s else show, but we’re in a set that we’re familiar with, the farm and all those things. So it was very, very cool.”

Image zoom Everett Collection

As a Smallville fan, Guggenheim was delighted seeing them on screen again. “Every turn, every nuance, every little choice is just so perfect,” he says. “The beautiful thing is that this material was written by [Batwoman showrunner] Caroline Dries and [writers] Don Whitehead and Holly [Henderson], who had all worked on Smallville. Having been writers on Smallville, I stepped aside and let them speak to where things were headed. As a fan of the show, it answered a lot of questions that I had. It provided a lot of closure, I think, in a really nice way.”

Even though the story was crafted by Smallville vets, Guggenheim did share a scene with Smallville co-creator Alfred Gough before filming began. Says Guggenheim: “I wouldn’t say he blessed it, necessarily, but he described it as something fun.”

“Crisis on Infinite Earths” kicks off with Supergirl on Sunday, Dec. 8, followed by Batwoman on Monday, Dec. 9, and The Flash on Tuesday, Dec. 10. After the winter hiatus, the crossover will resume Tuesday, Jan. 14, with Arrow at 8 p.m., and conclude with Legends of Tomorrow at 9 p.m.

For expert analysis, interviews, and scene breakdowns, watch EW’s official “Crisis” after-show, Crisis: Aftermath, hosted by Kevin Smith and airing 9 p.m., immediately after Supergirl (Dec. 8) and The Flash (Dec. 10) on The CW.

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