James Gunn’s Superman Legacy has found its Lex Luthor

The next Superman film is slowly taking shape. Several months after choosing the new Clark Kent and Lois Lane, the Superman Legacy by James Gunn has just found his Lex Luthor in the person of Nicholas Hoult.

Of X-Men to The Man of Steel

After months of casting, director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) chose the British actor to play the famous superhero nemesis. He thus takes over from actors Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey and Jesse Eisenberg in the guise of Lex Luthor in the cinema.

Nicholas Hoult is not a partridge of the year. If his first major role was opposite Hugh Grant in For a boy in 2002, you may have discovered him in the teen series Skins.

The 33-year-old actor then established himself as a solid supporting role (A Single Man, Clash of the Titans), before taking on more important roles in the saga X-Men – where he plays Beast – and in Mad Max: Fury Road.

In recent years, Nicholas Hoult has shown all his talent in productions that are less mainstream but of very good quality: The Favorite, The Banker, The menu or the series The Great.

The actor is therefore a prestigious addition to an already promising cast. As a reminder, Clark Kent / Superman will be played by David Corenswet (We Own the City, The Politician), and the role of Lois Lane will be played by Rachel Brosnahan (The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel).

Superman: Legacy will also count on the presence of Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason or even Maria Gabriela de Faria in the role of The Engineer. A rumor even indicates that the big villain of the film would be the famous Brainiac, without any actor having yet been announced.

Written, produced and directed by James Gunn, the film will tell the adventures of Superman “in search of balance between his Kyptonian heritage and his human upbringing“, as indicated by producer Peter Safran (Aquaman, Peacemaker).

The film will be the cornerstone of Gunn’s new DC universe, which will unfold over the next ten years, with films and series in theaters and on the Max streaming platform.

Superman: Legacy is scheduled to hit theaters on July 9, 2025.