Marsters 'Smallville' return confirmed

Smallville producers Kelly Soulders and Brian Wayne Peterson have confirmed that James Marsters will reprise his role as Brainiac for the show's final season.

Marsters first appeared as the villain, also known as Professor Milton Fine, in the fifth season and has made several guest appearances since.

Soulders confirmed to Blastr that the character will return in the show's upcoming 200th episode, saying: "There were things that we really wanted to encapsulate in the 200th, and we literally sat around for days trying to bring it together, and suddenly Brainiac popped in and it all fell into place."

Peterson added: "It's the touchstone for the bigger theme this year, which is where we explore the past, the present and a little bit of the future. We get to touch on some memories and nostalgia, but as soon as we do that we explode into something nobody has ever seen on the show."

He promised that long-time fans will not be disappointed by the final episodes of the series.

Marsters is also due to reprise another villainous role, on new CBS drama Hawaii Five-0.

The tenth season of Smallville begins September 24 on The CW.