When we first learned that James Gunn planned to put Lex Luthor front and centre in Superman, it was hard not to declare, "Again?" The villain has been featured on screen a lot over the years, and there are plenty of comic book villains who still haven't appeared in a movie.
Fortunately, Man of Tomorrow will shift the spotlight to Brainiac, with Nicholas Hoult confirmed to return as Lex. In the sequel, it seems he'll be ally to Superman as they team up to save Metropolis and the world.
Variety recently caught up with the British actor and asked about adding to Lex's legacy on screen. "There’s been so many wonderful actors who’ve played Lex," Hoult started. "So I feel honored to be another one, another name added to that list."
"And I just love what James Gunn writes, how he wants to portray that character, evolve the character going forward as well," he continued. "So I feel like I’m in safe hands with him, and it’s a character that I really enjoy playing. It makes me happy."
While Hoult declined to share any specific Man of Tomorrow details, he did tell the trade that Gunn's script for the Superman sequel is "awesome." He'll report to set to begin shooting in April.
In related news, Collider has revealed that Superman was IMDb's most popular movie of 2025. Based on pageviews of its 250+ million users, the DC Studios reboot stood tall above every other release from the past year (clearly, it and the cast generated a lot of interest and curiosity).
Man of Tomorrow is still searching for its Brainiac. The latest online scuttlebutt points to Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista breaking bad when he joins the DCU. Matt Smith has previously been named as a possible frontrunner.
Written and directed by James Gunn, Man of Tomorrow stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl, and Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr.
Several actors and characters are rumoured to appear, including Aaron Pierre's John Stewart/Green Lantern and John Cena's Peacemaker. As noted, recent reports point to Gunn possibly looking to cast the DCU's Wonder Woman.
Man of Tomorrow arrives in theaters on July 9, 2027.