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This story contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the remainder of "Smallville's" seventh season.

If you like "Smallville" the way it is now then you?re not going to enjoy the latest buzz on the shows eighth season.

Michael Rosenbaum has flatly stated on several occasions that after the current seventh season wraps up, he will not be back on ?Smallville? as Lex Luthor. The big shock however is that he isn?t the only character departing the show ? and there will be deaths involved.

Of course, the word ?death? isn?t something that is commonly seen on the Superman series. Partly because the show deals with the darker threads of superhero mythology without killing, but also because the series has a never-ending supply of clones hidden in someone?s closet.

Not this time around. TV Guide?s Michael Ausiello is reporting that Kristen Kreuk -- who has played the small town love interest for the corn-fed hero from Krypton since day one ? has also decided to pass on a full term commitment next season. Both characters will be back though for a limited run ? assuming contract negotiations pan out that is.

?Nearly everyone is expected to return for Season 8 except ? wait for it, wait for it ? Michael Rosenbaum and Kristen Kreuk,? wrote Ausiello. ?I'll give you a second to catch your breath. Sources close to the show tell me that both actors have informed producers that they don't intend to return as series regulars next season. However, they are open to doing limited engagements, and those details are being worked out as we speak.?

So it seems pretty safe to say that both of these characters will survive the mythology-filled season ending, meaning that a third unidentified character is ready to bite the dust. According to Ausiello, the first episode completed after the writers strike will also mark ?the day a long-running character ? a series regular ? takes his/her last breath. As in dies. For real. No cloning crap this time around.?

The episode is scheduled to air on April 17, and will take off where the makeshift finale, ?Veritas,? finishes so fans may have some inclination as to who will be saying goodbye. Then again, with announcements that Rosenbaum and Kreuk will be back in a limited run next year rules them out as a potential death candidate, leaving only a handful of characters to fit Ausiello?s profile.

Allison Mack?s Chloe Sullivan character is a ?Smallville? exclusive and is completely alien to the larger Superman mythology. Her latest exploits as a meteor infectee could hold a larger significance for the character meaning her days could theoretically be numbered. The eldest Luthor, played by John Glover, also fits the bill and without Lex on the series his time as the vessel of Jor ?El may be at an end.

?Smallville? returns to The CW?s schedule on March 13.