The Real Reason Kristin Kreuk Left Smallville

Before Clark Kent meets Lois Lane in Metropolis, he grows up with Lana Lang in Smallville. That’s how Superman mythos goes, and nowhere was this romantic journey better portrayed than in The CW series “Smallville.”

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Lana Lang, played by Kristin Kreuk, is one of the show’s most crucial characters, serving not only as a romantic partner to Tom Welling’s Clark Kent, but also as a dear friend to some of the show’s most important characters. However, at the end of season 7, Lana, in an effort to make sure Clark can be the best heroic version of himself, gives a heartfelt goodbye to him and Smallville, with Kreuk effectively leaving the show, only to come back for a five-episode stint the following season to give a second tragic end to the Lana-Clark story.

Behind the scenes, it’s widely believed that Kreuk’s contract around this time was simply over and done. Upon her departure in 2008, the actor candidly admitted that while she greatly enjoyed the series and the Lana character, it was simply time to branch off to other projects. As she explained during a Metro interview:

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“I love the people and it’s a wonderful show to work on, but I realized there were things I couldn’t do due to the schedule on Smallville. Lana has changed so much since the first season, so she was always fun to play. I just wanted to try something else. It’s not that I was bored with the show.”

All things considered, from a strictly story perspective, Lana’s departure felt natural, especially as Erica Durance’s Lois Lane was becoming a more prominent fixture and the series was gearing up for its final chapters.

Kristin Kreuk was not the only actor to leave “Smallville” during this time. In fact, around season 7 is when much of the show’s original main cast departed the series. 

Annette O’Toole (who played Martha Kent) did not appear in seasons 7 and 8, and only made minor appearances in the final two seasons. The seventh season saw John Glover’s Lionel Luthor get killed off (though the actor would return as an alternate version of the character in season 10). Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor, left “Smallville” after season 7 (though came back for an epic presidential cameo in the series finale) for a variety of reasons, from his contract running its course to wanting to move on to different projects to not being offered a pay increase. (The departure of original showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar after season 7 also impacted Rosenbaum’s decision.)

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As for Kreuk, the actor has not had any qualms about exiting the show. During a 2024 fan panel, she gave thorough reasoning for why she declined returning for the show’s tenth and final season, and how she was content with Lana’s overall character ending:

“There’s no dirt. I just wanted her to be off in imaginary land. I wanted her to keep living the life that she had gone off to live and I didn’t want to bring her back […] I really struggled with all the love triangle stuff […] I just couldn’t see how we come back and close this — like, add another closure to the story where it wasn’t just about Clark and Lois.”

For any longtime fan wanting to read more, be sure to read how “Smallville” almost received a “Justice League” spin-off series.

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