With Michael Rosenbaum confirmed to return for the Smallville series finale, everyone's favorite "pool hall junkie" is discussing the thought processes behind him deciding to become the hair-less Superman antagonist one last time.

Speaking with his hometown paper, the Evansville Courier & Press, Rosenbaum reflects on his decision to return to Smallville, how he made the decision based solely on the boisterous fan-base - and why he’ll be wearing a bald cap for Lex Luthor’s long-awaited return.

Implementing the "Rosenbaum humor" that made him a fan favorite, Rosenbaum makes sure to highlight the fact that after 10 years, Tom Welling is well passed the young Clark Kent look that the series was built upon. In fact, he notes that Clark looks much more like a 30-year old man than a mild-mannered adolescent farm boy with an inability to fly.

"Now it's been on three more years. Clark is starting to look like he's in his 30s."

Sticking with the Smallville mythos that was built well after Rosenbaum left the series, he acknowledges the fact that there needs to be a showdown between Clark and Lex (hopefully Superman and Lex):

"Obviously there's unfinished business between Clark and Lex that has got to get resolved. Our future is depending on it."

Noting that while he wants nothing more than to move on from Smallville, Rosenbaum acknowledges that he wouldn’t be returning if it weren’t for the supportive fans:

"I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I felt the fans created the show, and they followed me at such a level that I couldn't say no. ... I felt after 160 episodes, that was it. But the fans didn't think so. I'm doing it for them.”

Of course, Rosenbaum explains that while Lex is an important part of Superman’s story, he felt that playing the same role for seven years was a pretty good run:

“Lex is an integral part of the show. No one expects a show to last 10 years. I gave them seven years and I thought it was pretty commendable.”

Even though Rosenbaum is known for continuously shaving his head for the role of Lex Luthor (a commendable act, no doubt), he reveals that this time, his return to Smallville will involve a bald cap:

"There are other projects that I am working on that requires hair. [My hair] takes four months to grow back."

While fans of the series may scoff at Rosenbaum wearing a bald cap, I have no doubt that the Smallville producers will make sure it looks natural. If the series finale ends like everyone hopes it will be – with Clark flying around as Superman – I’m sure they’ll have enough left over in their visual effects budget to blend in the parts of Rosenbaum’s bald cap that make-up couldn’t cover.

Still, with Rosenbaum’s return, the question has to be asked how his inclusion will be implemented into the plot. Considering the Alexander Luthor that we’ve seen growing during Smallville season 10 is actually, well, I’ll let you read it for yourself (I've learned my lesson), how will Rosenbaum’s Luthor return?

As I’ve been watching Smallville’s final season progress, I figured that Alexander Luthor would simply grow up to be Lex Luthor - and would no longer be the kid from High School Musical (Lucas Grabeel) and become Michael Rosenbaum. Given the revelation in the episode two weeks ago, that outcome seems unlikely - so what now?

Hopefully those questions will be answered as we close in on the Smallville series finale.

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Smallville airs Friday's @8pm, on The CW

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Source: Evansville Courier & Press