Legacy casts Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor – The Hollywood Reporter

Nicholas Holt

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In one of the most important new castings after the SAG-AFTRA strike, Superman: Legacy It has found Lex Luthor, with Nicholas Hoult in talks to play the classic villain. No agreement was reached, but talks had been ongoing since before the strike.

Warner Bros. had no comment.

James Gunn writes and directs Superman: Legacy, the first feature from his and Peter Safran’s new DC Studios universe. David Corenswet will play Clark Kent/Superman, while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane, and the duo will land the roles in June after a long casting search.

Hoult has long been in contention for the role of Luthor but has also thrown his hat in the ring to play Superman and was one of the finalists for the role.

Luther first appeared in the 1940s Action comics #23, created by Superman duo Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Gene Hackman played Luther opposite Christopher Reeves Superman (1978), while Kevin Spacey opposed Brandon Routh’s iteration of the character Superman returns (2006). More recently, Jesse Eisenberg played a version of the character that was reinvented in the vein of the sneaker-wearing tech CEO in Zack Snyder’s film. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

Holt previously played the Marvel/X-Men character Beast in the film series released from 2011 to 2019. The busy actor’s relationship with Warners dates back to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and his recent credits include last year food menu And the global image of the beast Renfield, released earlier this year. He was also among the stars of the Hulu period drama The Greatfor which he received an Emmy Award nomination in 2022.

Holt is repped by UTA and Director 42.