Superman: Legacy Update Gives Nicholas Hoult a Second Chance At DCU

Summary:

• When Nicholas Hoult lost the role of the titular hero in the upcoming Superman: Legacy, it wasn't the end of the road for him
• Now it has been confirmed that the actor will play Lex Luthor, one of the hero's greatest adversaries
• This turn of events can actually be exciting news, as some of the greatest villains have been played by actors who originally wanted to play heroes

As the DCU inches closer to its upcoming reboot, more and more information is being revealed about the first project in the new era of the franchise, Superman: Legacy, directed by James Gunn, who is also overseeing the massive overhaul.

Not too long ago, fans of one of DC Comics' most iconic characters were keeping a close eye on the casting process for the film, as one of three actors, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Brittney or David Corenswet, was on the verge of being cast as the new version of Superman.

Eventually, David Corenswet won the competition, but although Nicholas Hoult lost the role of the Man of Steel, he wasn't done with the movie yet, as according to various sources, he also auditioned for the role of the superhero's nemesis, Lex Luthor.

Now, a new report from Deadline confirms that the actor has indeed been cast as the villain, much to the delight of fans.

Nicholas Hoult's Villainous Role May Be a Blessing in Disguise

Since Superman is the second major DC superhero role that Hoult has lost out on, as he previously auditioned for the role of Batman in Matt Reeves' 2022 film of the same name, only to be beaten out by Robert Pattinson, they believe that the actor is well deserving of the role of an iconic villain.

Hoult has proven himself to be an extremely talented actor, even if his career has been a bit bumpy in recent years, so fans are sure he will nail the role of Luthor.

After all, we've already seen the actor go bald in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, where he portrayed Nux, so at least he won't look weird in the role.

Fans also point out that while it would have been curious to see Hoult's take on the world-famous superhero, perhaps it's for the best, as there have been cases where actors who flawlessly portrayed villains first auditioned to play the protagonists.

One of the most interesting examples is Tom Hiddleston, who was originally set to play Thor in the 2011 film of the same name, but ended up playing his brother Loki, while Chris Hemsworth was cast as the God of Thunder.

Over the years, Loki has had a far more interesting character arc than Thor, thanks to Hiddleston's outstanding acting skills, so perhaps a similar situation with Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor is actually a blessing in disguise.

With the actor finally securing his role, the casting for the movie looks extremely promising, even if it hasn't been fully revealed yet.

New Superman Movie Could Easily Repeat Old Mistakes

The only possible problem with the movie may be that it repeats the mistakes made by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where too many comic book characters were crammed into a single movie.

In addition to Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor, the upcoming movie will feature Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner (one of the Green Lanterns), Angela Spica (aka Engineer), Mister Terrific, and Metamorpho, which is quite a lot for the very first movie in the revamped DCU.

Given that it is not even the full cast, and that many superhero movies have been damaged by trying to include too many characters, some fans remain concerned that Superman: Legacy will go in the same direction.

Either way, we will only know the truth when the movie sees the light of day, with it currently scheduled for release on July 11, 2025.

Sources: Deadline, Reddit