Meet the 3 stunning actors in the final running for James Gunn’s Lex Luthor

The latest Superman: Legacy updates reveal James Gunn has narrowed his list down to three actors in the running to play the next Lex Luthor.

2023 has not exactly been the kindest to DC Comics.

The DC television universe continues to crumble around us with the Arrowverse ending, HBO Max’s DC slate being wiped out of existence, Gotham Knights getting axed after just one season, and Superman & Lois being dismantled with a major casting purge ahead of its fourth season which will be its shortest yet.

Things have been even worse at the box office. While DC hoped to rebound from Black Adam‘s shortcomings last fall, DC is currently on a losing streak at the box office with dismal returns on Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash — two films DC bet big on that flopped at the box office. Expectations aren’t high for Blue Beetle or Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which could further extend DC’s box office losing streak.

While things haven’t been going as DC has planned lately, the future of the DCU is looking brighter than ever with James Gunn and Peter Safran expected to breathe new life into the struggling DC franchise. Of course, there have been some bumps along their journey to launching the new DCU but that was to be expected as they cleaned hour to make way for a new class of actors to take on the most iconic roles in the DC Universe.

Gunn and Safran are hard at work in laying the foundation for the upcoming DC reboot which will begin with 2025’s Superman: Legacy. The heads of DC Studios are hard at work in casting for the film with the field quickly being narrowed for the movie’s key roles.

After months of vetting potential actors and actresses, DC has begun screen testing for the roles of Superman and Lois Lane with Nicholas Hoult, David Corenswet, and Tom Brittney vying for the role of Superman and Emma Mackey, Rachel Brosnahan, and Phoebe Dynevor said to be in the final running to play Lois. However, there’s a third key member of the film that DC is also said to be in the final stages of casting as well: Lex Luthor!

As James Gunn and Peter Safran work on casting the key roles for Superman: Legacy, the duo are said to be looking to cast a new actor to play the role of Lex Luthor — a character who has not appeared on the big screen since Jesse Eisenberg’s panned turn as the villain in Batman vs Superman and Justice League. The character is expected to play a pivotal role in Superman: Legacy, so it makes sense that DC is currently casting for the role.

Who is playing the next Lex Luthor?

As Peter Safran and James Gunn continue their casting efforts for Superman: Legacy, there are three actors who have emerged as the favorites to play the next iteration of Lex Luthor: Alexander Skarsgard, Bill Skarsgard, and Nicholas Hoult.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and Safran’s shortlist for the role of Lex Luthor includes the two Skarsgard brothers with Hoult also being in the mix — though the fact that he has since emerged as a favorite for the role of Superman suggests he may no longer be the frontrunner for Lex. Of course, we have seen in the past that many actors have gone out for one role only to land another meaning that Hoult might be going out for Superman but could very well land the role of Lex in the end.

What’s quite interesting and notable is the fact that outside of Hoult, the other two names on the shortlist for the role of Lex are the Skarsgard brothers. While the pair might share the same last name, there is no denying that each has such a unique acting style that would likely make for two very different Lex Luthors.

It’s unclear when DC might announce its final casting decision, but there’s no denying that between the Skarsgard brothers and Hoult, Gunn and Safran have pulled together a talented trio to play one of DC’s most iconic villains!