Nicholas Hoult joins Superman: Legacy as Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor has a long on-screen history; Hoult is just the latest actor to play the role. Gene Hackman played a goofier version of Lex in Christopher Reeve’s “Superman” films, which Kevin Spacey imitated for the more often remembered “Superman Returns.”

For the most recent attempt to create a DC Universe on the big screen, Zack Snyder cast Jesse Eisenberg as an erratic tech brother, Lex, in “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” — a choice that didn’t really sit well worked. Of course, for many DC fans (especially those of my generation), the quintessential Lex Luthor is Clancy Brown, who voiced the villain in “Superman: The Animated Series” through “Justice League Unlimited” with the cocktail perfect of sinister pride. This is not to say that there is no room for reinterpretation of Hoult.

Compared to these Lexes, Hoult is younger (he’s currently 33 and only four years older than Corenswet), similar to Eisenberg and Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex on “Smallville.” Still, Hoult is a natural choice for Lex Luthor; he is classically handsome, but several of his roles have a pompous and unsympathetic side (see “The Menu”, “The Favorites”, etc.).

“Superman: Legacy” will also be the proper start to the new on-screen DC Universe (after a prelude with 2024’s “Creature Commandos”), so I’m guessing Hoult is signing on knowing he could be in for the long haul .

“Superman: Legacy” is currently scheduled for release on July 11, 2025.