James Gunn says Nicholas Hoult’s performance as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Superman: Legacy movie is aiming to be something fans will never forget.
On November 20, 2023, Deadline broke the news that former Beast actor Nicholas Hoult had been cast as Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy, which is being written and directed by Gunn.
Gunn has now shared a photo of the two of them together on Instagram with a caption that reads, “Yes, finally I can answer, [Nicholas Hoult] is Lex Luthor in #SupermanLegacy and I couldn’t be happier. 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.”
Who else stars in Superman: Legacy?
Superman: Legacy will see David Corenswet play the Man of Steel. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan is playing Lois Lane, while Skyler Gisondo has been cast as Jimmy Olsen and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher.
Additionally, the movie will feature appearances from Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
Following 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Gunn and Peter Safran are creating a new DC shared universe, the DCU, that begins in 2024 with an animated Creature Commandos series. Superman: Legacy follows in 2025, while Sean Gunn (James’ brother) was recently cast as Maxwell Lord and is expected to appear in forthcoming DCU projects.
Superman: Legacy releases in United States theaters on July 11, 2025.
