James Gunn's Superman: Legacy may have found its Lex Luthor

The hunt for a new Lex Luthor has come to an end, according to new reports, with Nicholas Hoult landing the role.

As the famous Dark Knight quote goes (excuse us for mixing up our superheroes for a second): “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Well, this is seemingly what's happened to Nicholas Hoult, an actor who auditioned both for Batman and Superman when they were being cast.

Those superhero roles eventually went to Robert Pattinson and David Corenswet respectively and now Hoult has turned villain, according to Deadline.

Hoult is a fantastic choice to play Luther, an actor that manages to switch between sweet and sinister on a dime.

Hoult and catch fire

He may have made his name as the cherubic titular 'boy' in About A Boy, alongside Hugh Grant, but since then he has chosen some fascinating roles and has already been tied to a huge superhero franchise before, portraying Beast in X-Men: First Class and its sequels.

It's perhaps his role in Mad Max: Fury Road that points to what he could do with Lex Luthor, though. There he played the unhinged Nux, part of Immortan Joe's clan, with ferocious verve.

If this report is correct - James Gunn is yet to verify the news and he has been pretty quick to do this before - then Hoult will join Corenswet as Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.

Hoult, at 33, is the same age now as when Jesse Eisenberg played Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice back in 2016.

We've got a feeling that he will approach the role very differently to Eisenberg's glitch tech nerd portrayal.

Superman: Legacy is set to soar on to screens 11 July, 2025.

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