Sci Fi Updates - Smallville's Martian Manhunter Ready to Join the Justice League

You are here: Home

Smallville's Martian Manhunter Ready to Join the Justice League

By Chris McKeown, on 03-06-2007

Favoured : 73

Phil Morris, aka Martian Manhunter on the CW's Smallville, is ready to go if the network decides to air any spinoffs based on the hit series. "I think it’s almost a no-brainer because I think the audience would love it and I think the fans would love it . . . When I speak to Kal-El and I tell him that I’ve been on this planet longer and I understand the people better than he does, I was speaking from a real place. When you see those scenes it’s not super powered aliens talking, it’s two guys relating their issues with each other. I can play that for the next ten years, frankly, and that’s what makes this show so heartfelt."... According to Morris, Martian Manhunter "will lend itself to the evolution of Smallville as a series, and then lay the groundwork for Metropolis, or Justice League, or whatever they want to do in terms of branching off for other series." Morris was also glad that showrunners decided not to make him green for the part, becuase it might be "too otherworldly and too alien" for some fans. He also called it a wise decision to "cast him as an African-American because he really is a man on an island, as is Kal-El/Clark Kent. That’s their one relating point is that they are both the last of their race stuck on another planet with these crazy humans. They have more humanity in either one of them than all of these humans put together; it’s really ironic. That they have created John Jones to be an African-American is brilliant to me, because as an African-American I use that as my motivation.”

“Here’s what I speculate, and I know nothing, I’m just speculating, like one of the rank and file fans with my 20,000 books. Here’s my speculation; they can’t have Wonder Woman because someone is doing that, they can’t have Batman because of the movies, and those are two of the major JLA members that they can’t use. So they bring in Martian Manhunter, which fills some of the gap. Maybe we’ll see Hawkgirl? Who knows? If they base the show in Metropolis we can all operate out of there, even though Central City is big with the Flash.”

“I’m an actor speaking as a fan saying that I am excited to see what the permutations will be.”

Last update : 03-06-2007