Nicholas Hoult is set to play Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s upcoming "Superman: Legacy" film.

James Gunn has cast Renfield and The Menu star Nicholas Hoult as the iconic Superman villain. Hoult was previously up for the role of Clark Kent/Superman, which went to David Corenswet. This isn’t his first foray into superhero movies, as he also played Beast in a series of X-Men movies.

David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan were cast as Superman and Lois Lane in June and last week, the news spread like wildfire that María Gabriela de Faría landed the role of villain The Engineer.

Hoult joins some pretty stellar names to have played the villainous Luthor, not least Gene Hackman who famously portrayed the character in several films throughout the late 1970s and 80s.

In the meantime, Hoult will be appearing in Juror #2, Clint Eastwood’s final film, not to mention collaborating with Justin Kurzel on the crime thriller, The Order. He also has a role in Robert Eggers’ remake of Nosferatu, set for release next year.

Source: Press Release