I Needed The DCU’s Superman To Bring Us The Version Of Lex Luthor Its Promised In Its Newest Trailer

Based on the character’s on-screen history and the trajectory they’ve often taken the DC villain, I’m excited to see the version of Lex Luthor the DCU’s newest Superman trailer promises. Some DC villains wait years to get so much as a reference on-screen, but Lex Luthor is certainly not one of these figures, as he generally serves as Superman’s equivalent to Batman’s Joker, emerging in the vast majority of series about the Man Of Steel. This is no different for the DCU’s Superman movie, which has already provided some glances at the newest take on Lex in the buildup to its release.

In fact, the newest Superman movie trailer provides the most in-depth look at the DCU’s Lex Luthor yet. In the span of the just shy of three minutes the trailer takes up, we get a lot of different teases about what this version of Luthor is like and what his role will be in the upcoming DC movie. Promisingly, these all suggest the DCU will be taking one particular path when it comes to bringing the iconic antagonist onto the big screen once more.

DC’s Latest On-Screen Versions Of Lex Luthor Have Strayed From The “Classic” Version Of The Villain

Recent on-screen depictions of Lex Luthor have toyed more with the premise of the character, delving away from his conventional depiction. Superman & Lois explores an older and more grizzled Lex complete with a beard and at first a full head of hair, looking at what a version of the Man of Steel’s nemesis would be like this far into their lives – though the series establishes that by the time we see him in the show’s story, he’s just gotten out of a seventeen-year-long prison stint, meaning he and Clark have missed a considerable period of their rivalry, and their overall dynamic, while entertaining, is certainly different.

My Adventures With Superman takes an even more different direction, with “Alex” being introduced in season 1 as an ᴀssistant of DC villain Parasite during his scientific career, and the series initially keeping it vague as to whether the character was indeed Luthor at all, given his different design and different backstory. The show’s story would later reveal Alex was in fact Lex during season 2, wherein the character begins going by this moniker and steadily becomes more similar to his comic self, including forming LexCorp and working more actively to oppose Superman himself.

The creators of My Adventures With Superman discussed the decision to take Lex Luthor’s story in this direction in an interview with CinemaBlend, explaining that they were given a “no Lex Luthor” mandate for the first season, leading to this overarching story direction.

Of course, there’s also the DCEU version of Lex Luthor, which drew some not inconsiderable criticism for the ways it also deviated from a conventional depiction of the character. Styling Lex Luthor as a up and coming tech mogul, Jessie Eisenberg’s frenetic version of the DC villain was critiqued for taking the usually suave and ruthless business tycoon and instead providing a take that personality-wise seemed like it might match more with the likes of the Riddler instead.

I don’t think any of these depictions of Lex Luthor are strictly a bad thing – indeed, I found Superman & Lois’ Lex and his guitar intro music seriously fun, for example – as they help to test the waters regarding what directions the character can be taken in, and ensure the overall on-screen DC mythos doesn’t stagnate due to a lack of experimentation. However, the trend of delving in so many different directions for the villain makes Superman’s take on him look all the more interesting.

The DCU’s Newest Superman Trailer Promises A Comic-Accurate Lex Luthor Who Still Feels Fresh

The new DC Universe Superman trailer offers the best look at the movie’s Lex Luthor so far, showing him storming the Fortress Of Solitude and monologuing about how much he hates Superman and considers him an “it… that’s somehow become a focal point of the entire world’s conversation.” The montage also features Luthor menacingly and somewhat smugly drinking from a Lexcorp mug, and screaming in rage, reinforcing the picture painted here of a take on the villain that could relatively easily be found within the pages of most Superman comics.

Combined with the decision to have Lex Luthor be bald from the getgo here – a surprisingly uncommon approach for the character – and dressed as an extravagant and somewhat ruthless businessman might traditionally in the pages of DC’s comics, this take on the character currently already feels far more comic-accurate, seemingly reflecting the decision to maintain a lot of classic Superman elements in the DCU story. With that said, though, the promising-looking story and delivery from Nicholas Hoult still suggests the movie can balance this with a fresh look at the decades-old comic character.

I’m Even More Excited For The DCU’s Superman Movie To Get To Finally See Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor

In the build-up to the upcoming release of the DCU Superman movie this July, relatively little has been unveiled about Lex Luthor, despite there naturally being considerable interest in the character. The first look at Hoult’s Lex was held for a considerable period of time – something that makes sense given David Corenswet’s own Superman wasn’t glimpsed for a good while – and the majority of information we learned was through snippets revealed in interviews, which themselves did begin to suggest a Lex that more directly reflects the comics could be on the way beforehand.

With that said, though, the casting seemed a promising one from the moment it was first announced, as Nicholas Hoult’s acting career at that point already supported the idea he would be able to do the role justice, both through his roles as antagonists in the likes of The Great and The Menu, and due to his history with superhero movies thanks to him playing Beast in some of the Fox X-Men movies. This has been reinforced in recent history further, both with Hoult’s successful role in Nosferatu, and now with the glimpses of his Lex Luthor we get in the new Superman trailer.

Though we’re still a fair way from seeing Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor appear on-screen in Superman itself, all of this promises a character that is equal parts what makes the villain work in the comics combined with a unique dose of acting flair to make him Hoult’s own. Hopefully, further teases will showcase more about this iteration of the character before we finally get to watch his debut in the DCU movie.