James Gunn confirms highly-anticipated Lex Luthor casting

Gunn calls Luthor ‘one of my very favorite characters in the DCU’

DC Studios CEO James Gunn has confirmed on social media that Nicholas Hoult will play Lex Luthor in the forthcoming Superman: Legacy.

Gunn posted a picture of the pair together on Instagram, along with the caption: “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.”

The Guardians of the Galaxy director added: “‘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. Anyway, here’s to Lex (and Nicholas!), one of my very favorite characters in the DCU.”

Superman: Legacy is currently slated for release in July 2025. It will also star David Corenswet (The Politician) as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) as Lois Lane and Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen.

Hoult is known for his recent film roles in the likes of The Menu and Renfield and for his performance in the historical comedy-drama series The Great, for which he was twice nominated for a Golden Globe.

He will be stepping into the villainous role played in the past by the likes of Gene Hackman (1978’s Superman), Kevin Spacey (2006’s Superman Returns) and Jesse Eisenberg (2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).

It was previously reported that Hoult had been in the running to play Superman himself.

In June, insiders claimed that DC co-heads Gunn and Peter Safran and Gunn were meeting with Hoult, Corenswet and Tom Brittney (Grantchester) for the role of the titular superhero.

Prior to his casting in 2019, Corenswet told Entertainment Weekly: “My pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman. I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman]. I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take, but I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic.”

Superman: Legacy will be the first film in the new era of the connected DC Universe, followed by Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, which is set for release in October 2025.

The movie will reportedly tell the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas.