Nicholas Hoult has revealed a crucial detail about the dynamic between his version of Lex Luthor and the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman. During a visit to the set of DC Studios’s tentpole movie, the actor confirmed to ComicBook that at the start of the highly anticipated DC Universe, the two arch-nemeses have not yet met in person, despite Luthor already harboring a deep-seated hatred for Superman. This establishes their rivalry as a pre-existing and intensely ideological conflict, with Hoult explaining that his character has already been hard at work devising elaborate plans to defeat a hero he has never formally encountered..
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“One of the things I loved most about the script the first time I read it is that you get thrown into the middle of a fully developed world and story, so these characters have already existed in this universe,” Hoult told us. “You’re kind of playing catch-up a little bit as an audience member for what the lore is, I suppose, in some ways, and what you’re dealing with. And with Lex, I suppose it’s this thing of he’s already developed or devised all these plans of how to defeat Superman, and you’re kind of playing catch-up in terms of what’s at play and the plans unfurling in front of you. So that’s kind of where you meet him.”
“They are aware of each other,” Hoult underlines, confirming that Lex Luthor and Superman are not new to each other. “But I don’t think they have necessarily met in person. One of the things I really love about this version of Lex is that all his beliefs and fears are what drive him, but in some ways, that drive is real. What he is wary of, with what Superman represents, is something that could be a real danger and threat to humanity, I suppose. So, in some ways, that was something that I really liked in terms of first trying to get into the psyche of the character. It was this idea that, you know, when you’re playing a villain, it’s easy to be like, ‘I’m the bad guy,’ but actually, if you stand back and look at this, it’s his beliefs and almost his love of humanity and protection and this idea that they should be masters of their own fate and destiny. And the rest of society has kind of fallen into this path of trusting Superman, believing in Superman, and giving him what Lex would view as all power and freedom, and so it’s like, ‘where does jurisdiction and law and protection of humanity come into that?’”
Lex Luthor’s War on Superman
Hoult’s insight transforms the classic Superman/Luthor rivalry from a simple battle of brawn versus brains into a fundamental clash of ideologies. The core of this new Lex Luthor’s villainy is his a fervent belief in human exceptionalism. In his view, Superman (David Corenswet) represents an existential threat to humanity’s potential, as the very existence of an all-powerful alien savior, trusted and adored by the masses, renders human achievement and self-determination obsolete. This aligns with some of the most acclaimed interpretations of the character, particularly from comics like Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman, which James Gunn has cited as a major influence. In these stories, Luthor’s brilliance is poisoned by his xenophobic conviction that humanity cannot be truly free as long as it lives under the shadow of a god from the sky. Because of that, he sees Superman not as a protector, but as a leash.
In the comic books, this ideological foundation makes Luthor’s plans far more insidious than simply trying to kill the Man of Steel. His true goal is to destroy the idea of Superman. He aims to prove to the world that their faith is misplaced and that their hero is a threat masquerading as a savior. Luthor’s war, therefore, is a war on hope itself. He must systematically dismantle the public’s perception of Superman, exposing his vulnerabilities and manipulating events to frame him as unstable, foreign, and ultimately dangerous. It is a psychological campaign to force humanity to reclaim its destiny by rejecting its greatest champion. It will certainly be interesting to see how the upcoming movie will explore this vicious side of Lex Luthor.
Superman is scheduled to fly into theaters on July 11th.
What do you think of Nicholas Hoult’s take on Lex Luthor’s rivalry with the Man of Steel? Join the discussion in the comments.
