James Gunn had a set of goals in mind when he began creating the DCU‘s first feature film, Superman. Yes, he planned to have a successful release on July 11, 2025 and introduce the world to a new take on the Man of Steel, but he also wanted to reintroduce Lex Luthor as a scary villain. Not Jessie Eisenberg’s meme-worthy take. Not a random bald-guy-yelling-in-a-boardroom take. He wanted Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor to be “incredibly dangerous”. He wanted to show that this Lex Luthor hates Superman more than the others.
This was not going to be a character who was just another nuisance with money for Superman to deal with. Gunn wanted more from the film’s first villain. In an extended interview on CBS Mornings, Gunn explained that past versions never quite made him nervous. This time, he wanted fans to believe that Superman might not walk away from this.
And yeah, Hoult delivered. He gave us one of the best portrayals of the DC villain yet. He was menacing right from the get-go. He’s the CEO of LuthorCorp, a public genius, and, unlike many of the live-action versions, a man with a very detailed plan. He doesn’t want to just “stop” Superman. He wants to kill him. Gunn even repeats it a bunch of times in the interview. “Well, I think what was important for me is that Lex Luthor is incredibly dangerous. And I think that in the past, I haven’t been particularly scared of Lex Luthor. I wanted a Lex Luthor who I’m like, ‘Superman’s got his work cut out for him.’ And he really does. Lex has planned all this out. He wants to kill Superman. Kill Superman. Like, really kill him. And I think he’s figured out some good ways to do it.”
Gunn also frames Lex as the smartest man on Earth, someone who once solved the world’s problems, built new tech, and earned his praise from the public the old-fashioned way. Then, three years ago in the film’s timeline, a smiling alien drops out of the sky and takes all his shine. Of course this makes Lex really mad.
And if we’re super honest with ourselves, we can probably relate more than we’d like to admit. Imagine spending decades becoming the best in your field, only to be replaced overnight by someone who didn’t even apply for the job. That’s the kinda company politics we all face in life.
“I understand his point of view. Lex Luthor is the smartest man in the world. He’s done great things for humanity. He’s a scientist and was probably considered the greatest man in the world until about three years when this guy flies in with dimples and a cape and suddenly everybody thinks he’s the greatest man in the world. And Lex just cannot deal with it. It just kills him. You know, his ambition was everything, and it’s gone. It’s been destroyed by this guy, and so he’s sort of rationalized his own way of believing that he is put here on Earth to destroy Superman,” said Gunn.
Gunn isn’t blind to what came before. He gives a nod to Smallville and Michael Rosenbaum, whose Lex felt tragic and human. The difference here is timing. This Lex and Clark Kent, played by David Corenswet at 32, meet for the first time. Lex is becoming Lex here.
“In this movie, Lex and Superman are meeting for the very first time. But I do think that, you got to make Lex scary. He’s got to be fully himself. But also, you have to understand him. I think you have to understand his hatred of Superman and that’s what Nick (Hoult) gets across so beautifully…” Gunn continued.
That humanity is what makes Lex very dangerous. He isn’t evil for sport. He’s really hurt. Lex Luthor genuinely hates Superman.
Of course, big heroes like Superman need complex villains like this. Especially human ones. Because, if we’re honest, in another life, that bitterness could’ve been ours.
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