Nicholas Hoult To Play Lex Luthor In James Gunn's Superman: Legacy
It seems the gears are turning for James Gunn's DCU. Recent reports from various outlets have cited that Nicholas Hoult has been cast as Lex Luthor in "Superman: Legacy." According to Deadline, Warner Bros. was waiting until after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended before completing the casting for DC's iconic evil scientist.
This move appears to round out the film's cast. David Corenswet will don the Superman cape, with Rachel Brosnahan picking up Lois Lane's pen and notepad. Other heroes will also be flying across the screen when the movie releases, with Nathan Fillion finally getting the chance to portray a live-action Green Lantern. Interestingly, Hoult's casting means he is set to reunite with a former castmate from his X-Men days. Edi Gathegi, who portrayed Darwin in "X-Men: First Class," is signed to play Mister Terrific.
Hoult follows in the footsteps of some heavy hitters; Luthor has been portrayed by actors such as Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenberg. However, the fandom appears to be in agreement that the British actor fits the bill for Superman's archnemesis. Still, Hoult's casting seems to follow a fun and long-lasting superhero movie tradition, one Marvel and DC fans are likely very familiar with by this point.
Other actors have been cast as villains after losing out on the hero's role
It almost seems to be a ritual by this point, but when it comes to casting, superhero movies — Marvel and DC — sometimes follow a fascinating pattern. Several actors will go far in auditions for a heroic cape-wearing role, only to be declined before getting brought back again to play the bad guy.
Tom Hiddleston famously auditioned for the role of Thor and even got so far as to wield the hammer for test footage. Mr. Thomas Shelby himself, Cillian Murphy, actually wore Batman's costume when auditioning for "Batman Begins." Thankfully, destiny intervened, giving fans the opportunity to witness Hiddleston as multiple iterations of Loki and Murphy as Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow.
Now, Nicholas Hoult is another entry in this fun superhero-to-villain casting tradition swap. Before his casting as Lex Luthor, Hoult was reportedly in serious talks to play Superman before the role went to David Corenswet. Interestingly enough, he was also up to play Batman, before losing out to Robert Pattinson. As Luthor, Hoult now has the chance to make the DC world pay. After all, when it comes to holding grudges, every comic book fan knows Lex Luthor is king.