James Gunn Eyed An Avengers Star For Superman's Lex Luthor Before Nicholas Hoult
While "X-Men" star Nicholas Hoult has been tapped to play Lex Luthor in James Gunn's "Superman: Legacy," it appears that the writer-director had also been gunning for one of Marvel's Avengers from his "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies to embody the famed DC Comics villain.
According to Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, Gunn was hoping to land the actor who provides the voice of Rocket to play Superman's chief nemesis. "Gunn has long wanted a movie star to play Lex Luthor, and he's believed to have discussed the role with Bradley Cooper during the press tour for 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,'" Sneider wrote on his site, aptly named The Insneider. "But in the end, he returned to Hoult, who very nearly played Batman for director Matt Reeves. He's been on DC's radar for years."
The titular role of "The Batman," of course, went to Robert Pattinson. Cooper, meanwhile, most recently co-wrote, directed, and starred in the forthcoming Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro," which chronicles the life and career of the famed music composer.
Hoult follows a distinguished list of actors who have played Lex Luthor
Nicholas Hoult, who is currently filming "Juror No. 2" with director Clint Eastwood, is one of a number of actors to join "Superman Legacy." In June, DC Studios found its Clark Kent and Lois Lane in David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, while Anthony Carrigan and frequent James Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion were cast in July to play Metamorpho and Green Lantern Guy Gardner, respectively. Most recently, the "Superman" reboot cast Skyler Gisondo as beloved DC Comics sidekick Jimmy Olsen.
Hoult, who will presumably shave his head to play the notoriously bald bad guy Lex Luthor, follows in the footsteps of several notable actors to play the DC supervillain in a live-action setting. Gene Hackman starred as Luthor opposite Christopher Reeve's titular character in the 1978 classic "Superman," while Kevin Spacey assumed the role opposite Brandon Routh's Krypton-born superhero in "Superman Returns" in 2006. Later, Jessie Eisenberg's Luthor faced off against Henry Cavill's Man of Steel in 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and turned up in both Joss Whedon's and Zack Snyder's versions of "Justice League" in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
On TV, Michael Rosenbaum played Luthor on the long-running series "Smallville." Jon Cryer later portrayed the villain on The CW's "Supergirl," and Michael Cudlitz stepped into the role for "Superman and Lois."
"Superman: Legacy" is scheduled to open in theaters on July 11, 2025.