Nicholas Hoult has been cast as classic comic book villain Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy.

The Mad Max: Fury Road star will portray the Man of Steel’s archnemesis in James Gunn’s upcoming movie alongside David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, according to Deadline.

The British star was reportedly one of the actors in the running to play the titular character, however, he lost the role to The Politician star. Gunn, who is directing the movie from his own screenplay, subsequently chose Hoult to play Luthor.

The bald villain was previously portrayed by Gene Hackman in 1978’s Superman, Kevin Spacey in 2006’s Superman Returns and Jesse Eisenberg in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League.

Superman: Legacy will also feature María Gabriela de Faría as a villain called The Engineer, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hakwgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific and Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason/Metamorpho.

Gunn has yet to comment on Hoult’s casting.

Hoult is no stranger to the superhero genre; he previously played Hank McCoy/Beast in four X-Men movies between 2011 and 2019. He also auditioned for The Batman but lost the role to Robert Pattinson.

Superman: Legacy will be the first feature film in the new DC Universe. The Guardians of the Galaxy director and producer Peter Safran, who became the bosses of DC Studios in November 2022, announced their upcoming slate of projects in January.

Despite delays caused by the strikes, the movie is still scheduled to be released in cinemas on 11 July 2025.

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