Superman: Nicholas Hoult Details Lex Luthor Audition Process

Production has officially begun on Superman, James Gunn's highly-anticipated take on the mythos of DC's Man of Steel. The ensemble cast of Superman has been filled with surprises thus far, including Nicholas Hoult as the iconic antagonist Lex Luthor. Hoult's involvement in Superman came after a few stops and starts in the modern superhero space, as he was previously reported to be in contention for both the film's incarnation of Clark Kent / Superman (who will ultimately be played by David Corenswet) and The Batman's Bruce Wayne / Batman (played by Robert Pattinson). In a recent interview with Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Hoult shed light on the audition process for Superman, and how Gunn helped him dive into the experience.

"James got me particularly excited [because of] his ability to keep things fun, alive, and try things in the moment," Hoult explained. "He'll shout out from the monitors 'say this line', 'do this'. That's something I really enjoy."

What Is Superman About?

Per DC Studios, Superman tells the story of Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and a better tomorrow, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned. 

"We got James Gunn and Peter (Safran) working very hard on DC, which is going to be a very big growth driver for this company," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav explained last year. "We are very bullish on DC. The Superman script first draft is done. Gunn is on a mission from god. It is a really good moment to prove out on DC what we got and how strong it is globally for long-term sustainable growth."

Who Will Star in Superman?

Superman will also star David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Terence Rosemore as Otis, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica / The Engineer, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho.

"We've been having a lot of great conversations, David and I, with James Gunn, the director," Brosnahan revealed in a recent interview. "We've been talking a lot about where this project fits into the canon of the Supermans that we know. So hopefully, this'll be... we'll be putting our own stamp on things."

What Is On the DC Universe Slate?

As Gunn and Safran revealed in January of 2023, the initial DC Studios slate for "Gods and Monsters" will include movies for Superman, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Swamp Thing, and The Authority. It will include the HBO Max television shows Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and an animated Creature Commandos series.

"A lot of people think it's going to be Marvel 2.0, and definitely I learned a lot of stuff at Marvel. I think that we have a lot of differences," Gunn explained. "We are telling a big, huge, central story that is like Marvel, except for, I think that we're a lot more planned out than Marvel from the beginning because we've gotten a group of writers together to work that story out completely. But we're also creating a universe that is like Star Wars, where there's different times, different places, different things, or Game of Thrones, where characters are a little bit more morally complex." 

Are you excited for Nicholas Hoult's take on Lex Luthor in Superman? What do you think of his new comments about the film's audition process? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Superman is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.