Superman: Legacy director James Gunn finally confirms Nicholas Hoult is our new Lex Luthor

Last Updated on December 29, 2023

It was reported last month that Nicholas Hoult would be playing Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy, but writer/director James Gunn didn’t initially comment on the casting as he has in the past.

James Gunn has finally broken his silence on Instagram, explaining that he hadn’t said anything until now because Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor deal wasn’t officially finalized until just a few days ago. Time to break out the razor.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn)

“Yes, finally I can answer, @nicholashoult is Lex Luthor in #SupermanLegacy and I couldn’t be happier,” Gunn wrote on Instagram. “We went out to dinner last night to celebrate and discuss how we can create a Lex that will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget. “But, James, we heard this weeks ago, why didn’t you tell us it was true?” Because, although we were discussing it, it wasn’t final until a couple days ago and I don’t want to tell you all something that isn’t certain. Anyway, here’s to Lex (and Nicholas!), one of my very favorite characters in the DCU.“

James Gunn recently said that the script for Superman: Legacy is 99.9% complete. The film is set to star David Corenswet (Pearl) as Clark Kent, with Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) as Lois Lane. We’ll also see Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Guy Gardner, a charismatic and slightly obnoxious member of the Green Lantern Corps; Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Hawkgirl; Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific; Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho; María Gabriela de Faría (Deadly Class) as The Engineer, a member of The Authority; Sara Sampaio (At Midnight) as Eve Teschmacher; and Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen.

Co-chair of DC Studios Peter Safran has also teased that Superman: Legacy will not be an origin story and will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.” Superman: Legacy is slated to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.