Nicholas Hoult to play Lex Luthor in ‘Superman: Legacy’

There’s a new Lex Luthor in town. Nicholas Hoult is in talks to play the role of the classic DC Comics villain in James Gunn’s Superman: LegacyEW confirmed.

He joins previously announced David Corenswet (Hollywood), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Nathan Fillion (The recruit), Isabelle Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold), Edi Gathegi (For all humanity), Anthony Carrigan (Barry), and Maria Gabriela (Animal control). Deadline was the first to announce the news.

Corenswet plays the title role of Clark Kent/Superman, while Brosnahan plays Lois Lane. Fillion, Merced, Gathegi, Carrigan, and Gabriela will make appearances as DC heroes Guy Gardner (a Green Lantern), Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, and the Engineer, respectively.

Hoult was originally among the actors considered for the lead role of Superman, before Corenswet ultimately won the role. The actor previously played the comic book character Beast in the X-Men films and went bald for the role of Nux in Mad Max: Road to Fury.

As Superman’s longtime billionaire foe, Luthor has been portrayed by many actors on screen – almost as many times as Superman himself. Gene Hackman played Lex from Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel era, Kevin Spacey took the role in the Brandon Routh-led film. The Return of Supermanand Jesse Eisenberg played Lex opposite Henry Cavill’s Kal-El/Clark Kent in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice And Justice League.

On the small screen, John Shea (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), Michael Rosenbaum (Small city), Jon Cryer (Supergirl), Titus Welliver (Titans), and now Michael Cudlitz (Superman and Lois) played the role.

Superman: LegacyWritten and directed by Gunn, follows a young Kal-El as he reconciles his Kryptonian heritage with his human life as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kan. The film, Gunn said, will be “the true foundation of our creative vision for the DC Universe,” which includes films about DC’s superhero team Authority, Batman, Supergirl and Swamp Thing, as well as shows about the Creature Commandos, Amanda Waller, Booster Gold, the Green Lanterns and the Amazons of Themyscira.

Despite the presence of other major DC heroes, including members of the hero team The Authority, Gunn says this film is fundamentally a Superman story. The other characters, he said in Threads in July, “fit the story I’m telling. The story always comes first.”

“The main story definitely revolves around Superman and Lois,” he added.

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