'Supergirl' Adds Peter Facinelli as Maxwell Lord and More

Supergirl may have debuted to less fanfare than her Comic-Con 2015 brethren, but Kara Zor-El has a world of work ahead of her October premiere. Not only has Twilight alum Peter Facinelli been cast in the role of DC villain Maxwell Lord, but so too will Supergirl find herself contending with the likes of Livewire and Reactron when new series premieres.

Shortly before the pilot’s official premiere at Warner Bros.’ Superhero Saturday Night extravaganza, Supergirl’s producers tossed out both Reactron and Livewire as villains Kara would face early on, before bringing Peter Facinelli himself out to confirm a role as Maxwell Lord. The DC character has towed the line between hero and villain, though according to CBS:

Maxwell is a green tech billionaire who enjoys a friendly rivalry with Cat Grant and a fascination with National City’s newest arrival — Supergirl.

Premiering Monday, October 26, so reads the official CBS logline for Supergirl:

SUPERGIRL is an action-adventure drama based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), Superman’s (Kal-El) cousin who, after 12 years of keeping her powers a secret on Earth, decides to finally embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be. Twelve-year-old Kara escaped the doomed planet Krypton with her parents’ help at the same time as the infant Kal-El. Protected and raised on Earth by her foster family, the Danvers, Kara grew up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh), and learned to conceal the phenomenal powers she shares with her famous cousin in order to keep her identity a secret.
Years later at 24, Kara lives in National City assisting media mogul and fierce taskmaster Cat Grant (Golden Globe Award winner Calista Flockhart), who just hired the Daily Planet’s former photographer, James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), as her new art director.
However, Kara’s days of keeping her talents a secret are over when Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), head of a super-secret agency where her sister also works, enlists her to help them protect the citizens of National City from sinister threats. Though Kara will need to find a way to manage her newfound empowerment with her very human relationships, her heart soars as she takes to the skies as Supergirl to fight crime.
Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Arrow”), Ali Adler, Sarah Schecter and Andrew Kreisberg are executive producers for Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The pilot was directed by Glen Winter (“Arrow”).

In addition, Supergirl features Owain Yeoman as DC’s Vartox, Iron Man villain Faran Tahir as The Commander, Smash star Jeremy Jordan as Toyman, former Super-stars Dean Cain and Helen Slater as Kara’s adoptive Danvers parents, and Laura Benanti as Kara’s Kryptonian mother Alura. As with DC’s approach to movies and TV thus far, the new Supergirl series will establish its own independent continuity, outside of Arrow and The Flash, or the inevitable Justice League movie, as CBS boss Nina Tassler previously downplayed the possibility of any CW crossover.