Posted in: Movies, Superman, TV, Warner Bros | Tagged: dc studios, nicholas hoult, superman

Superman: Nicholas Hoult Says In Lex's Mind, "He Should Be Adored"

Superman star Nicholas Hoult says Lex Luthor is "obsessive, determined, and relentless, and there's a lot of emotion pushing through all of that in a way."

While a lot of people say that Superman is a hard character for people to figure out, one could argue his villains are just as difficult because you have to figure out how to make a villain seem like a threat to someone who is essentially invincible in many different ways. Lex Luthor is probably the big Superman villain, so we have seen a bunch of different versions of him over the years, from the mad scientist to a real estate tycoon. Everyone who has played the character, whether it is live-action or voicing him in animation, has brought something different to the table, and Nicholas Hoult wanted to do that for his version of Lex as well.

It probably helped, as he explained to Entertainment Weekly, that he didn't go into auditions wanting to play Lex but was one of many trying out for Clark Kent. However, even before his Superman audition, Hoult felt drawn to Lex's side of the story, saying, "There was a tiny little inkling voice inside of me. I was like, 'Maybe you could do a good job with the Lex stuff.'" Things worked out. Hoult believes this was the right part for him to play, but now they needed to portray a Lex that was a threat to its new Superman, and in this case, this is a Lex who already has a goal in mind.

"Superman's so powerful and unstoppable in many ways that you need to have a character that feels like, 'Okay, how is this person dangerous? How could this person potentially win and come out on top?'"Hoult explained. "[My Luthor has] already got his end goal in sight. … He's obsessive and determined and relentless, and there's a lot of emotion pushing through all of that in a way."

We are going with the mad scientist version of Lex in this Superman movie, but with a dash of toxic masculinity thrown in for some flair. So not only do we have a Lex who is probably smarter than most people in the room, he knows he's smarter, and he enjoys the fact that he's smarter.  Not only does he enjoy it, but this version of Lex believes humanity owes him something and, for that, they should be "adored."

"The gadgets and tech he's working with are beyond those things that we can imagine," Hoult said. "He's someone who really worked hard for a long time in terms of science and himself and how he wants to be perceived and his intellect. Even, for me, physically in this, I wanted him to feel like he was as much alpha as possible, where he's someone who's, in his mind, done everything he possibly could for himself, but also for humanity in some ways. In his mind, he should be adored. And then this person, this superhuman, this alien has come along who all those things come naturally to in many ways. That gives him a deep, deep resentment."

High intelligence plus massive ego plus insecurity plus inferiority complex plus unlimited funds? Why do I feel like we know several versions of this man in the real world? Well, even in a movie like Superman, life often does find a way to imitate art.

Superman: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who's driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

DC Studios heads Peter Safran and Gunn are producing the film, which Gunn directs from his own screenplay, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

The film stars David Corenswet (Twisters, Hollywood) in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult (the X-Men movies, Juror #2) as Lex Luthor. The film also stars Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind), Anthony Carrigan (Barry, Gotham), Nathan Fillion (the Guardians of the Galaxy films, The Suicide Squad), Isabela Merced (Alien Romulus), Skyler Gisondo (Licorice Pizza, Booksmart), Sara Sampaio ("At Midnight"), María Gabriela de Faría (The Moodys), Wendell Pierce (Selma, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan), Alan Tudyk (Andor), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Bird Box) and Neva Howell (Greedy People).

Superman is executive produced by Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars Winther. Behind the camera, Gunn is joined by frequent collaborators, including director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky and composer John Murphy, along with composer David Fleming (The Last of Us), editors William Hoy (The Batman), Jason Ballantine (the IT films, The Flash) and Craig Alpert (Deadpool 2, Blue Beetle).

DC Studios Presents a Troll Court Entertainment/The Safran Company Production, A James Gunn Film, Superman, which will be in theaters and IMAX® nationwide on July 11, 2025, and internationally beginning 9 July 2025, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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