Nicholas Hoult in Talks to Play Lex Luthor in "Superman: Legacy"

English actor Nicholas Hoult is in talks to play the Man of Steel’s arch nemesis in “Superman: Legacy”, completing the core cast for the superhero reboot, with David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan already set to play Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

Hoult was initially one of the actors who was in the running for the titular role, however, James Gunn — the co-chief of DC Studios and the writer-director of the film — picked Hoult to play Luthor, the industry titan with a bald head and an abiding fixation on bringing down the Last Son of Krypton.

With the actors strike over, Gunn has been busy filling out the cast. He confirmed on social media that María Gabriela de Faría was recently cast as another villain, the Engineer. 

In the movie, Superman will be backed by Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan).

“Superman: Legacy” is the inaugural feature film in DC Studios’ relaunch of the DC universe in film and television, which Gunn and fellow co-chief Peter Safran announced in January. 

On November 11, Gunn posted that due to the work of his production team during the strikes, the movie is still set to make its originally scheduled release of July 11, 2025.

Hoult has had a busy of late: He is starring in Clint Eastwood’s legal thriller “Juror #2”; he’s in the animated movie “Garfield” as the voice of Jon, the titular cat’s owner; and he’s in Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bill Skarsgard.