After weeks of speculation, it was finally confirmed yesterday that Nicholas Hoult will play Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy. The actor is thought to be among those who auditioned to play the Man of Steel, but it seems James Gunn thought he'd be a better fit for one of the DCU's greatest villains rather than its brightest hero.
The filmmaker and DC Studios co-CEO recently answered a series of fan questions on Threads and was asked whether Hoult's Luthor will be bald. You might think that happening is guaranteed, though the character's portrayal in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice saw him with a full head of hair until the final few minutes.
Asked "are you going make him bald," Gunn replied, "ofc [of course]." Someone else shared fan art of Lex looking at his classic robotic costume from the comics, though the Superman: Legacy helmer wasn't giving much away when he simply replied, "That’s cool."
Gunn was also asked why it's taken this long to announce Hoult's casting when the news broke in the trade weeks ago. "It was a leak," he admits. "I don’t know who leaked it. It’s fine. But you never know when something can go wrong, so I didn’t want to announce it."
In yesterday's announcement, Gunn said: "Yes, finally I can answer, [Nicholas Hoult] is Lex Luthor in [Superman: Legacy] and I couldn’t be happier. We went out to dinner last night to celebrate [and] discuss how we can create a Lex that will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget."
"'But, James, we heard this weeks ago, why didn’t you tell us it was true' Because, although we were discussing it, it wasn’t final until a couple days ago and I don’t want to tell you all something that isn’t certain."
On the page, Luthor's iconic bald appearance is typically attributed to various origins. One common explanation is that Luthor lost his hair due to a scientific accident involving an invention gone wrong, though it's often been portrayed as a result of an experiment or encounter with Kryptonite, Superman's weakness.
David Corenswet is playing the Man of Steel, while Rachel Brosnahan has been tapped to star as Lois Lane. Other recent casting additions include Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
Kurt Russell no longer appears to be in the running for Jor-El and there's no word on Ma and Pa Kent or whether they're even alive in this iteration of Clark Kent's story. Brainiac, meanwhile, is expected to serve as the reboot's big bad. With production set to begin early next year, we're hoping the final few cast members will be revealed in the weeks ahead.
Superman: Legacy is currently set to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.