Before David Corenswet was selected to play Clark Kent/Kal-El in the James Gunn-written and directed Superman, one of the other finalists in contention for the role was Nicholas Hoult, who previously played Hank McCoy/Beast in the “First Class” era of X-Men movies. Despite not being selected to play the next cinematic Man of Steel, Hoult will still be involved in the upcoming DC movie as Lex Luthor. With less than a year to go until Superman’s arrival, Hoult recently shared his reaction when he learned he’d been cast as Luthor after auditioning to play the title superhero.
As part of the promotional circuit for his new movie Juror No. 2, which opened last weekend on the 2024 release schedule, Hoult stopped by Happy Sad Confused to chat with host Josh Horowitz about his career, including his forthcoming turn as Luthor in Superman. In fact, Hoult admitted that when he was preparing for his audition, he started thinking the chrome-domed villain might be a better fit for him, saying:
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.'
There’s surely another timeline where Nicholas Hoult ended up being cast as Superman instead, and to the residents of said timeline, I hope you enjoy the actor’s portrayal within that version of the DC Universe shared continuity. But as far as our Hoult goes, he realized early on that playing Luthor could be interesting in its own way. Apparently James Gunn felt the same way, much to the actor's amusement. Hoult continued:
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.’
James Gunn confirmed Nicholas Hoult would play Lex Luthor last December, and by February, the filmmaker debuted Hoult’s bald head in a Superman cast photo. By July, Hoult had wrapped his work on Superman, and just a few days ago, he revealed that he let his older son shave his head ahead of principal photography. No specific details about this version of Luthor have been revealed yet, but Hoult has said his portrayal is inspired by Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor from Smallville and the depiction of the villain in All-Star Superman, with the latter inspiring the actor to work out for the role.
Other members of the Superman cast include Rachel Brosnahan, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Eli Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, María Gabriela de Faría and Sara Sampaio, among others. Although Creature Commandos will officially kick off the DC Universe when it debuts next month to those who have a Max subscription, James Gunn and Peter Safran, who co-run DC Studios together, have said they consider Superman to be the “true beginning” of the franchise. The reboot hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
