REPORT: GOTG 3 Star Considered for Superman: Legacy's Lex Luthor
One Marvel actor from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 reportedly discussed playing DC villain Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy with writer-director James Gunn.
On Twitter, Deadline's Justin Kroll responded to reports about who is auditioning to play Superman Clark Kent and Lois Lane, the hero's main love interest, in Superman: Legacy. Kroll tweeted, "One thing not mentioned, while they have been taking submissions for the Lex Luthor role, sources tell me Gunn has been talking to one of his Guardians for the part. Sounds like [it's] probably not happening but there certainly were discussions during [the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3] press tour."
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GOTG Vol. 3 Features Both a Fancast and Former Lex Luthor
Dave Bautista, who plays Drax the Destoyer in Gunn's Guardians film trilogy, previously expressed interest in playing Lex Luthor in late January. After seeing a fancast of himself as the DC Universe's new Luthor on social media, Bautista found that idea "really interesting." The actor said then, "I may make a call to James and see if they got anybody in mind, but that is more appealing to me at this point of my life and my career than playing Bane." Baustisa has been fancast as Bane as well, but explained in January that he is too old to play the Batman villain.
As of writing, Gunn has not confirmed Kroll's report or if he spoke with Bautista about playing Lex Luthor. However, one Guardians actor has already played the villain before: Michael Rosenbaum. A good friend of Gunn's, Rosenbaum portrayed Lex Luthor across seven seasons of the Smallville television series starring actor Tom Welling as Clark Kent. Rosenbaum passed on reprising Luthor for the Arrowverse's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover in 2019, but responding to one fan in Dec. 2022, tweeted, "for james i'd do anything." For both Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Vol. 3, Gunn cast Rosenbaum in the minor role of Martinex T'Naga.
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Who Superman: Legacy Is Eying for Lex Luthor and Others
Another report claims that Black actors are being considered to play the villain of Superman: Legacy. Sources have labeled the film's villain role as "Apex," indicating that the movie may adapt the "Apex Lex" version of Lex Luthor seen in DC Comics. Apex Lex is a human/Martian hybrid, granting Luthor powers like Martian Manhunter so he can go toe to toe with heroes and villains alike.
X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult is another reportedly up for Lex Luthor, but other reports claim that he is actually going for the role of Superman instead. The list of those said to be in the running for Superman also includes David Corenswet (Pearl), Jacob Elordi (Euphoria) and Andrew Richardson (A Call to Spy). As for Lois Lane, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) and Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) have all been namedropped in audition reports.
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Gunn has confirmed that one Guardians of the Galaxy star will appear in Superman: Legacy, and that only one person has officially been cast in the movie as of writing. However, it seems the mystery actor will be playing a minor role in the film. Gunn has opted to neither debunk nor confirm Superman: Legacy casting reports, tweeting, "For all of you asking, I would never comment on who is or isn’t AUDITIONING for a role. That’s the actor’s business only & isn’t something I’d make public unless they did it first after the fact."
Set to begin filming in Jan. 2024, Superman: Legacy flies into theaters July 11, 2025.
Source: Twitter
Source: CBR - Comic Book Resources
