CW series "Supergirl" is beefing up its "Superman"-adjacent ranks, with notorious villain Lex Luthor set to make an appearance sometime during the show's just-launched fourth season.

The network announced on Thursday that it will begin casting soon for the role of Luthor, weaving him into the story of the titular heroine, a.k.a. Kara Danvers (played by Melissa Benoist). Luthor has been mentioned since season one of "Supergirl," though this will be the first time that he's seen on screen.

“We’re beyond excited to introduce iconic villain, Lex Luthor, to 'Supergirl' and to weave him into our story this season,” said executive producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller said in a joint statement. “We’ve talked about having Lex on the show since it’s inception and we’re excited to have him finally arrive. We can’t wait for him to shake things up in National City and watch him go toe-to-toe with not only Supergirl, but his sister, Lena Luthor.”

"Supergirl" has already introduced Kara's more famous older cousin (played by Tyler Hoechlin), and is also set to feature Lois Lane (the recently-cast Elizabeth Tulloch) during the upcoming Arrowverse crossover event. It's unclear exactly when Luthor will be showing up, but a rep for The CW notes that it will not be during the crossover.

Whoever takes on the role has some big shoes to fill, since the juicy part has been played numerous times on screens both big (Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenbeg) and small (Scott James Wells, Sherman Howard, John Shea, and Michael Rosenbaum). Stay tuned to see who lands the coveted part this time around.

[via: Deadline, TVLine]