We all know that the adult Clark Kent fights Lex Luthor in the Superman saga, but Michael Rosenbaum is leaving Smallville, Metropolis and the man of steel behind -- for now.

Since Smallville premiered in 2001, I have found the younger version of Lex Luthor to be one of the most dynamic and fascinating characters on television. The character we came to know in the movies was always evil, but Smallville allowed us the opportunity to understand how and why this man turned into a monster.

Executive Producers Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, as well as the CW and Warner Bros. Television issued the following statement:

"It has been an honor and pleasure to work with Michael for the past six seasons. He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode.

While Michael won’t be a series regular and we won’t have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven’t seen the last of Lex Luthor. Stay tuned."

Michael Rosenbaum also wrote a personal letter to his fans and members of the cast and crew of Smallville. The entire letter can be read HERE.

Lex Luthor may be leaving, but Clark will certainly have his hands full this fall as two new villains join the cast for season eight:

• Doomsday: Those who have followed the comic book series know that this character is the only one to have killed Superman. Clark will have his work cut out for him in season eight as this character arrives to present the man of steel with his ultimate challenge.
  
  
• Female Villain (Name TBA): The executive producers aren't giving up too much info on this character, but they have indicated "she will be familiar to many fans and will set her sights on Clark in ways Lex never could." They describe her as "intelligent, brilliantly manipulative, and dangerously sinister, our gorgeous new villain has one more weapon in her arsenal: Her mutual attraction with Clark may prove to be as deadly as kryptonite for him."

Stay tuned to see how Lex Luthor makes his grand exit and get ready for an incredibly exciting season eight this fall!

^{Photo Credit: © The CW/Jeffrey Thurnher}