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"Michael Rosenbaum has signed a last-minute deal to return for the upcoming Smallville finale, despite reports to the contrary. Over the course of this week it was claimed that Rosenbaum was uninterested in reprising his role as Clark Kent&amp;#039;s nemesis Lex Luthor for the final episode of the long-running series. However, Smallville executive producers Kelly Sounders and Brian Peterson have now released a statement confirming that Rosenbaum will indeed return for one final appearance on the show. &amp;quot;It feels like the stars are aligning, literally,&amp;quot; Sounders and Peterson said in the statement, published on Entertainment Weekly. &amp;quot;We couldn&amp;#039;t be more excited about having Michael back. &amp;quot;And as far as the way he returns, there&amp;#039;ll be no doubt about how Lex becomes the great rival in Clark Kent&amp;#039;s life,&amp;quot; they added. &amp;quot;He is the villain of the story.&amp;quot; Rosenbaum himself has also released a statement about his impending return to the show, claiming that he made the decision to return as a thank you to all the Smallville fans. &amp;quot;I appreciate all of their passion, their relentlessness, and even their threats,&amp;quot; Rosenbaum said. The actor portrayed Luthor for the first seven seasons of the series, but made his last appearance in May 2008. Smallville will finish after ten seasons in May this year. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/smallville/news/a303455/rosenbaum-will-make-smallville-return/>