Kryptonians and Luthors...You just can't have one without the other.
TVLine has revealed that the CW series Supergirl has cast Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor, the younger sister of Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor. The role will be recurring throughout Season 2.
According to the article, Lena is described as "Beautiful, powerful, and enigmatic, Lena arrives in National City on the heels of brother Lex’s incarceration, hoping for a fresh start. Lena has taken over as CEO of her family’s billion-dollar-tech company, Luthor Corp, which has been tarnished by Lex’s evil infamy. Her goal? To re-brand the empire as a force for good. Lena wants to be seen as her own person, separate from her brother. Kara is drawn into Lena’s sphere and must determine if she is friend or foe."
McGrath, 33, is an Irish actress best known as Zara Young in the film Jurassic World and as the Lady Morgana Pendragon on the BBC One series Merlin. In addition, McGrath has appeared on the TV series Slasher, Dracula, The Queen, and The Tudors.
Created in 1961 by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger, Lena Luthor first appeared in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #23 as Lex Luthor's younger sister. After Lex began his villainous career, his family changed their last name in shame to the anagram "Thorul" and told Lena that Lex had been killed in a mountain-climbing accident. Soon after, they were killed in an auto accident. As a result, Lena never knew she had an older brother, as Lex Luthor himself (with occasional help from Supergirl and Superman) worked to keep her from learning the truth. Lena had psychic/empathic abilities, gained from touching a Space Brain that Luthor was experimenting on before he became a villain. In 1981, Lena lost her powers after brain surgery, and the decision was made to tell her the truth about Luthor. After the initial shock, there were signs of reconciliation after Luthor discovered he had unwittingly aided another criminal's conspiracy against Lena, and he was deeply apologetic.
In DC Comics' current New 52 continuity, Lena grew ill when Lex was seventeen years old. Though he hoped he could save her, his attempt failed, consigning her to a wheelchair for life. Rather than face his failure, he told others that she was dead, and that he had been too afraid to fail in an attempt to save her. However, she was still alive, kept in his personal, secret lab at LexCorp, and was introduced to Bruce Wayne there after Lex became a member of the Justice League. After joining the team, Lex claimed to Wayne that he planned to cure his sister, a change from his previous behavior of leaving her alone to ignore his failure. When Neutron attacked LexCorp, an explosion rocked the interior of the headquarters, and Lena was caught in the blast. She was knocked unconscious, but survived, and her brother told Wayne to get her to safety. Lena later attempted to kill Lex prior to the “Darkseid War” event, as the result of a dark influence from Apokoliptian technology. With Lena now in a coma, Lex has all the power and authority in the world, but remains unable to fix her.
McGrath will be the third actress to portray Lena Luthor in live-action, after Denise Gossett on Superboy and Cassidy Freeman on Smallville. Freeman played a character called Tess Mercer, who was eventually revealed to be Lutessa Lena Luthor.
Supergirl will return for Season 2 on The CW October 10, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. EST.