A new love interest for Chloe. New steps in the Clark/Lois relationship. A showdown with Zod and the arrival of Jor-El.

Indeed, there's A LOT to come on season nine of Smallville. Who better to ask about it than Executive Producer Kelly Souders? She previewed future storylines in a recent interview with TV Guide.

Who will romance Chloe? I'll give you this much: It's somebody who is very charming and it would be hard for anybody not to have a fire for.

Will we see more powers from Clark? He has so much other story going on, we don't see a lot of that for a little while, but it does come back into play. I can't quite [tease any powers] because we're breaking one of them as we speak and we're going back and forth on exactly how the power works, but I can say that it's a magnificent power.

What about Clark and Lois as a couple? You get a little more insight, particularly into Lois. In the past, Clark was always hesitant to get into a relationship. He's finally met his match in Lois and I think she's even more hesitant in some ways than he is. The issues that she's grappling with romantically will start to emerge more clearly over this first half of the season.

What's in store for Zod? There's a little secret about Zod and the Kandorians: They're not exactly the way you think they are; that has a great deal to do with how the mythos would play out. In Episode 7, which is called "Kandor," a lot of their backstory comes to light and it sheds a huge light on them here presently.

As for Joe-El, Souders says to tune in for the episode titled "Kandor," from which the photo above is taken.

She also says there's a good chance Smallville returns for season 10, to which we respond: Hooray!!!

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.