It’s no secret that James Gunn’s hotly anticipated Superman won’t be an origin story for Clark Kent (David Corenswet). Not only will it be skipping his arrival on Earth and early life in Kansas, but it’ll throw audiences right into the middle of an ongoing story, with Clark several months into his relationship with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and already getting established as Superman. The same is true for some of his greatest foes, like Lex Luthor, who has LexCorp up and running and is leading the public opposition to the Man of Steel. That approach to establishing a new cinematic universe of heroes isn’t conventional, and for Nicholas Hoult, it proved to be quite a challenge. Collider’s Ross Bonaime attended a set visit last year when the star shared his thoughts on embodying a “grounded” Lex at this point in the story and how Gunn helped him navigate the role. Previously, Hoult’s depiction of the iconic villainous businessman has been described as both “smart and ruthless,” using whatever he can to gain an advantage over an alien superhero who has him easily beaten in raw strength. He tries to position himself as humanity’s champion in a sense, pushing back against the presence of a being from another planet that, for all anyone in Metropolis knows, could turn his strength against Earth. He’s also got a business to run and, the way Hoult sees it, he remains a mostly level-headed presence with everything in mind. “[He’s] always grounded emotionally, hopefully,” he said. “If I did it right, then [he’s] grounded emotionally, but also, as I said, you join the story already in kind of a high [point].” The biggest challenge of playing Luthor was that last part, Hoult admitted. Though Superman will be the cinematic debut of Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU, it’s also entering a world that’s already been established. Superman is already a hero and is trying to embrace his humanity, while Lex is already his #1 hater, who believes he should be adored instead of some Kryptonian. There was no ramp-up for these characters, but an immediate understanding of who they are that required Hoult to lock in from the unconventional beginning of the film to its end. Fortunately, Gunn was a big help in getting him acquainted with the world and what this version of Lex should be from day one:
“And this is something that James really helped me with. I’m so used to this idea of the films having a beginning and this journey to an end, and I think it took me a moment to understand [the] idea that, [in] this film you meet already at this place of, ‘We’re in the world,’ and ‘We’re off,’ and ‘This is go time.’ That was something that took me a moment to wrap my head around: this idea of, like, ‘Okay, we’re already in the heat of that.'”

Lex Luthor Won’t Be ‘Superman’s Only Villain

Luthor will obviously be a driving force in Clark’s story of trying to reconcile his human and Kryptonian identities, but he’s not the only enemy looming over Metropolis. Superman will also see the introduction of Angela Spica, aka The Engineer (María Gabriela De Faría), officially establishing The Authority’s presence in the DCU. Though little is known about the exact role she’ll play, the trailers have shown her teaming up with Luthor and battling Superman both at the Fortress of Solitude and within the city itself. Fortunately, there are plenty of other heroes in this world to support Clark, with Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) among those who will have roles to play in the blockbuster. Superman premieres in theaters on July 11. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the much-anticipated superhero film as it finally prepares to touch down.

Superman

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Runtime

130 Minutes

Director

James Gunn

Producers

Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran