Man of Steel fans can breathe a sigh of relief because James Gunn promises that his film’s version of Lex Luthor will indeed be “scary.” The coveted role of the brilliant billionaire baddie is now in the capable hands of Nicholas Hoult, and the Superman director is confident that the actor will deliver as a formidable foil for the Last Son of Krypton (David Corenswet). Gunn said in an interview with Screen Brief (below):

“One of the things that was important to me was to make a Lex Luthor who was absolutely Superman’s equal. Maybe more that. You’ve got to be scared, and this Lex is scary. And it’s not just because he is a bad guy — because he’s pretty bad — but he has his reasons for thinking what he thinks, which we get into. And it’s a lot of ideological things about what Superman represents versus what he represents as the world’s most intelligent man.”

A lot of wild speculation has inundated the online rumorville, both before and following on the heels of Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ record-breaking Superman trailer. The footage teases several villains for Kal-El to face off against, including Ultraman, who appears to be fighting Superman in the video, and Brainiac, if that is in fact his trademark skull ship reimagined and complete with glowing-green tentacles in the background. However, stay focused and don’t sleep on Lex Luthor. Hoult’s “bad boy” take on the legacy character is going to be a handful for Supes.
“Oh, Everybody Loves a Bad Boy”

Nicholas Hoult has already gone on record teasing his “ruthless” version of Lex Luthor, and James Gunn appears to have created a version of the character who doesn’t have a problem breaking the rules when it comes to squaring off with the DCU’s Man of Steel. The Superman director delved into the “ideologies” of both the film’s protagonist and antagonist, while also boasting that Hoult’s Luthor is a “bad boy” everyone, specifically women, will love. Gunn said in the same interview:

“And so, it really is this battle of ideologies between the two of them and how they look at the world. One of whom is very generous in his point of view, which is Superman, and one of them is not very generous in his point of view, which is Lex. But also, his intelligence and his way of dealing with the sort of henchmen that Lex has around him makes him incredibly dangerous to Superman.

And when you’re willing to fight, and there are no rules, you always have an upper hand over the person who’s willing to fight and has a lot of rules — which is Superman. When we were on set and Nick walked in there, he’s every ounce of the big-time movie star you can imagine. And the women were swooning over Lex Luthor. And I’m like, ‘Oh, everybody loves a bad boy.’”

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DC fans have a lot to be excited about, particularly where the inclusion of so many intriguing characters is concerned. A slew of super-powered heroes — Krypto really stole the show — were presented in the record-breaking Superman teaser, which has accumulated nearly 2.7 billion views since dropping on December 20. But don’t gloss over Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor because he’s going to make Kal-El’s life a living hell when Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.

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Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the first movie in Warner Bros.’ rebooted DC Universe to center around the titular comic book hero. It introduces a new version of the Man of Steel after Henry Cavill’s departure from the role, honoring the character’s roots as “the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way.”

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Cast

David Corenswet
, Rachel Brosnahan
, María Gabriela De Faría
, Edi Gathegi
, Nicholas Hoult
, Frank Grillo
, Nathan Fillion
, Milly Alcock
, Sara Sampaio
, Pruitt Taylor Vince
, Skyler Gisondo
, Anthony Carrigan
, Wendell Pierce
, Beck Bennett
, Sean Gunn

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