SUMMARY
  • Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor can be seen in the new teaser trailer of Superman.
  • Fans have mixed feelings about Hoult's version of the supervillain.
  • Hoult is hoping that fans will be able to understand Lex's point of view in the movie.

Superman is back and so are his enemies. The first teaser trailer for the new Superman movie has been dropped and it features more than just the superhero. Among other characters, fans also get a glimpse at the supervillain Lex Luthor, portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, who is widely known for his portrayal of the mutant Hank McCoy/Beast in 2011’s X-Men: First Class.

David Corenswet in Superman teaser trailer
David Corenswet in Superman teaser trailer | Source: DC Studios

Lex Luthor is one of Superman’s most persistent enemies and has been adapted for live-action several times. That said, James Gunn’s take on this character is definitely going to be different. Although how it will finally turn out remains to be seen, not all fans seem to be happy with Hoult’s version of the villain.

Fans have mixed feelings about Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in Superman

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman | Source: DC Studios

James Gunn and Peter Safran’s decision to reboot the entire DC franchise was not met with much resistance. The only thing fans complained about was DC Studios cutting off ties with Henry Cavill, who had played the role of Superman to near-perfection and would have continued doing so if given the chance. However, the co-CEOs had other plans.

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A reboot of the Superman film was announced, and David Corenswet was soon hired to play the titular role. Fans did not exactly welcome him with open arms and kept expressing their skepticism about his casting. Things have gotten better over the past few months and now the first teaser trailer for the movie has finally dropped.

As it turns out, some fans are also not very impressed with Nicholas Hoult‘s Lex Luthor, who was played by Jesse Eisenberg in Snyderverse. Here is how they are criticizing Lex on X.

There are also some fans who believe that Hoult will be able to pull it off. Here is what they have to say:

Hoult is a versatile actor and his filmography this year alone is proof of that. He voiced the character Jon Arbuckle in the animated film The Garfield Movie. Besides this, he appeared in Justin Kurzel’s The Order, Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2, and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. It is never wise to judge a book by its cover, so it is hard to tell what his iteration of Lex is going to be like until the movie is out, or at least a proper trailer.

Nicholas Hoult hopes people will understand Lex Luthor’s point of view

Nicholas Hoult
Nicholas Hoult in Tolkien | Source: Fox Searchlight Pictures

In the comics, Lex Luthor is initially portrayed as a narcissistic and egoistical mad scientist. However, it later changed and he was shown as the power-hungry CEO of LexCorp. His biggest goal is to get rid of Superman because he believes that the superhero’s ideology will only hurt humanity.

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Reflecting on this exact thing at a general Q&A held on the Warner Bros. lot after the Superman trailer premiere, Hoult expressed his hope that fans will understand where Lex is coming from (via ComicBook).

But there’s also something about this character, hopefully from my standpoint, where even though you perhaps don’t agree with his process, there’s an element where you can understand on some levels where he’s coming from and why perhaps what he’s pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity.

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The Great star also said that his version of Lex is “smart and ruthless” and is aware that he will have to be good enough to outdo Superman, at least in some areas because it is certainly not possible to match the level of the Man of Steel.

Superman will fly into theaters on July 11, 2025.

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