Superman & Lois Season 4 Showrunners Reflect on Ending Deaths

Superman & Lois was the final DC series on The CW and it aired its final episode this Monday, December 2, 2024. The lore built up over four seasons finally reached its conclusion, and certain important characters inevitably passed away. In a recent interview, showrunners Brent Fletcher and Todd Helbing discussed the finale and the characters who die in it.

Superman and Lois’ deaths in Season 4 finale addressed by showrunners

The two titular characters, portrayed by Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, die toward the end of the Superman & Lois Season 4 finale. Decades after Superman, his family, and his allies defeat Doomsday and imprison Lex Luthor, Lois discovers that her cancer has returned and eventually passes away due to complications related to the disease. Clark dies a few years later because of heart failure and encounters Lois again in the afterlife.

While speaking to ComicBook, Fletcher revealed that they were told that they were the “only live-action Superman [project] that had the opportunity to really close the book.” They took it literally and decided to “take it all the way.” Fletcher elaborated, “Let’s show what his life meant and Lois’ life meant to the audience because they’ve been on this journey. So, let them complete the journey and close the circle. It just felt like a satisfying end.”

Fletcher also addressed the bittersweet aspect of the ending and how it helped underscore the emotionality of the series finale. “We felt it could do the thing that I think Todd [Helbing] and I both gravitate to a lot in movies and books and TV which is like ‘happy sad,'” he explained. “I really love happy sad. I like to smile and kind of cry at the same time and we just felt like this kind of had all of that stuff. And it was beautiful and it kind of encapsulated what the show is,” Fletcher further stated.

Meanwhile, Helbing reflected on Superman’s long history as a character and the implications of ending their story with the death of the iconic superhero. “And it just felt like a great way to stick the landing and have something meaningful that would last with people,” he added.

Apart from Hoechlin and Tulloch, the show’s cast includes Alex Garfin, Wolé Parks, and Michael Cudlitz.