Michael Rosenbaum, who has played Lex Luthor for six seasons on SMALLVILLE, is officially leaving the show according to a joint statement from the powers that be released to the press just minutes ago. “It has been an honor and pleasure to work with Michael for the past seven seasons. He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won’t be a series regular and we won’t have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven’t seen the last of Lex Luthor. Stay tuned.”
Additionally, in a somewhat surprising move — yet one that might quash fan’s fears about the show’s ‘Lexless’ future — the producers of SMALLVILLE have made it clear that they’re already planning to fill the massive void left by an absentee Lex by adding two new villains to the cast. In season eight, Clark will face his ultimate challenge with the appearance of the legendary, unstoppable destroyer Doomsday. As well as a new female villain who producers say will be really hot familiar to many fans and will set her sights on Clark in ways Lex never could. 
