Tyler Hoechlin Returns To Television In ‘Supergirl,’ Is A ‘Teen Wolf’ Return Also In The Cards?
Following his surprising departure from MTV’s Teen Wolf in 2015, actor Tyler Hoechlin is set to make a return to the small screen in a big way. On Thursday, it was announced that Hoechlin, 28, had landed the coveted role of the one and only Superman for a two-episode stint on the upcoming season of Supergirl. Insiders for the series, which is making a move from CBS to the CW for the fall season, claimed in early June that fans would finally see the face of the man from Krypton after constantly showing the DC Comics superhero from angles that purposefully obscured it (only a younger version of Kal-El was seen, in full, early in Season 1).
While Hoechlin’s newest acting job is seemingly beneficial solely to fans of Supergirl, it also does loan some hope to the possibility of him making a return to Teen Wolf. Hoechlin’s character, Derek Hale, was last seen at the end of Season 4 as a fully evolved werewolf, ending a story line that many viewers initially believed was leading up to his death — he instead departed the fabled town of Beacon Hills to points unknown. In March 2015, just three months before Season 5 of Teen Wolf was set to air, show creator Jeff Davis shared the surprising news of Hoechlin’s departure with the public.
“A couple [of] months ago, Tyler came to me to discuss his experience shooting an indie baseball movie [the Richard Linklater film, Everybody Wants Some!!],” Davis explained at PaleyFest that year. “I asked if he was ready to move on from Teen Wolf, [and] he said he felt like he was at a point in his career where he wanted to try new things. So, I talked to the network about it, and creatively, we decided that it was a good time to refocus on the teens of Teen Wolf.”
“While Tyler may no longer be a series regular, don’t count Derek Hale out just yet,” he added.
Hoechlin confirmed his reasons for departure in an interview with Australian reporter Daniel Cribb in April 2015.
“I think I’m at a point in my life where I need to take a bit of a risk and see what else is out there,” he said. “I miss doing films, and being on a show makes it a bit more difficult with scheduling and opportunities to do that, so that was one of the reasons for it.”
He didn’t dive into the other reasons at that time, but he did prove that there was no major behind-the-scenes strife. When former co-stars Tyler Posey (Scott McCall) and Dylan O’Brien (Stiles Stilinski) gave him a call during the Teen Wolf panel at San Diego Comic-Con in June 2015, he displayed nothing but love for the character and the show’s fan base.
“I miss [playing] Derek very much,” Hoechlin stated over the line. “I really do. You guys [the fans] given us a lot of love. You guys are the best!”
Since departing the series, Hoechlin has also managed to snag a role in the upcoming sequel to the film adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey, 50 Shades Darker. He’ll be portraying Boyce Fox, a minor character from the book series. No official word yet on whether or not his reentry to television will bring him back to Teen Wolf, but fans surely wouldn’t mind hearing — or seeing — him roar on their screens once again!
[Photo by Jason Merrit/Getty Images]
