'Smallville' star: Man of reel

Word is the search for a new movie Man of Steel has turned to Tom Welling, star of The WB's "Smallville," according to several published reports.

The pairing of Welling an immensely popular young TV star who came to fame playing a conflicted, teenaged Superman in the series with the grown-up version is very appealing to fans.

Fan sites and web polls have been filled with Welling devotees calling for movie producers to give him the role.

Now, according to Superman-V.com, "the offer is on the table, and we believe it is a two picture deal."

There was no official word over the weekend from the star or the producer confirming that report.

The search for a new star for what would be "Superman V" has been a small-scale obsession in Hollywood for several years.

There hasn't been a Superman film made since 1987, when Christopher Reeve revived his role for the fourth time in a film called "The Quest for Peace."

Reeve's crippling accident in 1995 made Hollywood reluctant until now to make another in the series for fear it would be compared unfavorably with Reeve's portrayal.