In James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, Clark Kent will be exploring his Kryptonian heritage while living with his adopted family in Kansas. While not an origin story, we’ll still be seeing signature characters played by an exceptional cast of the superhero flick like Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Ahead of its summer 2025 movie release, the British actor teases Gunn’s “fun and different” take on his antagonist role as well as the sweet way he shaved his head for the role.
Nicholas Hoult joins a long line of actors who’ve played Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor like Lyle Talbot, Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, Jesse Eisenberg, and more. While he was originally gunning for the role of the famed caped crusader, playing the DC supervillain will still make his presence in the Superman universe all the more memorable. According to his interview on SiriusXM’s video, the Juror No. 2 actor talked about what made him so excited to play James Gunn’s “fun and different” take on the iconic role:
I mean, as a fan of DC comics in general and Superman, I was, I mean, like you say, such an iconic character and villain, and I think what’s really special is, I mean, James Gunn’s just got such a singular, incredible storytelling pattern and way that he brings films to life in such a unique manner that I was so excited about his take on it, and then reading the script, I felt the same. I was like, ‘Oh, this version of Lex is really fun and different,’ and yeah. I just hope people like it. I don’t want to say too much too early, but working with them and David’s such an incredible, wonderful Superman, he really embodies everything that you had hoped for that character, so I’m excited for people to see the film.
Based on what Nicholas Hoult is talking about, I wonder if that means we’re going to get a Lex Luthor that’s more quirky and eccentric than anything we’ve ever seen in the Metropolis resident. I can see the Golden Globe nominee nailing a part like that. After all, his past roles have included playing complex, snaky characters like Skins, The Great, The Favorite, The Menu, and more. With James Gunn’s comedic flair always being a good addition to the superhero genre, I can see Hoult’s version of Lex Luthor being a maniacal, animated character that would be very entertaining to watch.
While Nicholas Hoult is bringing a new version of Lex Luthor that we’ve never seen before, one signature trait the Tolkien actor will adopt for his LexCorp CEO role is a bald head. Back in February, the Primetime Emmy nominee debuted his smooth head in Superman: Legacy’s cast photo and fans loved what they saw. Hoult disclosed to SiriusXM the sweet way he shaved his head and it’s too cute for words:
It’s growing back gradually. Yeah, but I did shave my head, which I find quite liberating whenever I’ve done it for roles. I kind of enjoyed that this time. I let my older son get the clippers out and do it for me.
I’d like to believe Nicholas Hoult’s son had a lot of fun shaving his dad’s hair! Too bad he wasn’t around when his father was part of the cast of Mad Max: Fury Road donning a shaved head as Nux. I can understand why Hoult would find it “liberating” considering you don’t have to worry about fixing your hair when you wake up in the morning. Plus, I’m sure that look helped the X-Men actor get more into character. You can watch Hoult’s interview with SiriusXM in full below:
It looks like Superman fans will see Nicholas Hoult portray a “fun and different” Lex Luthor than they’re used to seeing. With each new director that helms our favorite Kryptonian superhero, it’s always refreshing to see different takes on these infamous DC characters as well as every actor’s unique interpretation. Get ready to see Hoult’s shaved head going off against David Corenswet’s Clark Kent/Superman with the upcoming DC movie in theaters on July 11th, 2025.