Warner Bros./DC Studios have released a new character promo and featurette for James Gunn's Superman, spotlighting Nicholas Hoult as our latest big-screen take on one of the most iconic villains in comic book history, Lex Luthor.
The teasers include some new behind-the-scenes footage of Luthor in action as he devises new ways to bring down the Man of Steel, aka the "thing" he believes so vehemently to be unworthy of humanity's love and adoration.
This movie won't be Hoult's first brush with the superhero genre (he played Beast in 20th Century Fox's X-Men movies), but it will be his first time portraying a major DC Comics character after narrowly missing out on landing the part of Bruce Wayne/The Dark Knight in Matt Reeves' The Batman - and screen-testing for the Man of Steel himself.
Hoult was actually a contender to play Superman prior to David Corenswet being cast, but realized that he might be a better fit for the hero's nemesis while reading Gunn's script.
"It's funny, because when I first read the script, I remember reading it and there was a little inkling part of me that was like 'Oh, I think you would have fun playing Lex,'" Hoult said during a recent interview. "And I kind of didn't say anything, and then when James [Gunn] called me to play Lex, I did kind of cackle - I think is how I'd describe it. I didn't say anything."
"I think he said, 'We want you to play Lex,' and I just laughed, because I think there was something in my instinct, when I first read the script, where I was like, 'I think that's more what I should be doing in this story.'"
Superman also stars David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
Sara Sampaio is on board as Lex's assistant/lover Eve Teschmacher, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell will play "Ma" and "Pa" Kent, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl has been confirmed to make her debut ahead of her own Woman of Tomorrow movie.
"And that’s a wrap," Gunn posted last year when filming concluded. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life. I set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much. And the goodness and kindness and love I’ve encountered on a daily basis on the set has inspired me and thrust me forward when I felt too spent to move on my own.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."
You can check out a synopsis for the movie below.
"In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind."