First look at Michael Shanks as Hawkman

UPDATE:  The 2-hour movie event has been renamed Smallville: Absolute Justice, according to EW.com.

Actor Michael Shanks swoops into The CW’s Superman drama Smallville in January, playing Hawkman (a.k.a. Carter Hall) (story).  Today TV Guide Magazine published a new interview with the actor, and the first photo of SG-1’s Daniel Jackson in his Hawkman costume.

“When we first meet Carter Hall he’s in his museum,” Shanks said. “We’ll learn he’s a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society’s time in the ‘70s, but we have since disbanded.”

Shanks talked about the role on stage at the official Stargate convention in Los Angeles last weekend, telling fans that  the costume’s wingspan measured in at 13 feet.

The two episodes, titled “Society” and “Legends,” will air February 5 as a special movie event on The CW in the United States, according to TV Guide.  The episode will also feature former Stargate guest stars Brent Stait (“Ferretti”) as Dr. Fate, and Brittney Irvin (“Merrin”) as Stargirl.

The role allowed Shanks, who for years played a wide-eyed optimist in Daniel Jackson, to tap into his gruff and cynical side.

“When we first see him, he is a shell of his former self with a heir of cynicism,” he said. “He wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the society as a whole and his failures in letting that happen.”

Check out TV Guide Magazine for the full interview, and a larger version of the photo above!