While the general public has to wait a little more than two years for Superman: Legacy to reach their eye, writer/director James Gunn and his team have been busy lately with a key step in the filmmaking process: casting. Over the last few weeks, the search for who will play Clark Kent and Lois Lane in this upcoming DC movie has been narrowing down, and it may not be too much longer until we learn who’s been selected for these roles. In the midst of this though, there’s apparently been movement on finding Legacy’s Lex Luthor, with two frontrunners being reported.
According to THR, a shortlist of Lex Luthor actors has been assembled, and brothers Alexander Skarsgård and Bill Skarsgård are said to be on it. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the top two choices for the role at the moment, but evidently there’s interest in seeing how they could do as Superman’s arch-nemesis. It was also mentioned that it’s unclear right now if Nicholas Hoult, who’s one of the final contenders for Superman, might be put into the Luthor running again, as it’d been reported he initially tried out to play the villain before being tested as Clark Kent instead.
Bill Skarsgård already has some superhero movie experience under his belt from playing Zeitgeist in Deadpool 2 and Kro in Eternals, so playing Lex Luthor would be a major next step up for him. He also already has ties with Warner Bros. from playing Pennywise in the IT movies, and will further diversify his comic book media resume by playing Eric Draven in The Crow reboot. As for Alexander Skarsgård, although he hasn’t starred in anything superhero-related, he also goes back with Warner Bros. with movies like The Legend of Tarzan and Godzilla vs. Kong. The elder of the Skarsgård siblings also got to play a supervillain of sorts, Randall Flagg, in The Stand miniseries that Paramount+ subscribers can stream.
The mention of the Skarsgård brothers being considered for Lex Luthor came in a report talking about how the frontrunners for Clark Kent and Lois Lane in Superman: Legacy tested in predetermined pairs this past weekend: Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan; Tom Brittney and Phoebe Dynevor; and David Corenswet and Emma Mackey. They were filmed performing several scenes, with the men in makeup and wardrobe as Clark, and the women looking like Lois. Then on Sunday, all the male actors returned for another series of screen tests, this time costumed as Superman, but Mackey was the only Lois contender who performed with them. However, THR’s sources said that this doesn’t necessarily mean she’s the one who will score the role.
We also learned earlier this month that Superman: Legacy will include members of The Authority, a superhero team getting their own movie in the DC Universe’s Chapter One slate. On that front, it was mentioned that Legacy will take place in a world where superheroes already exist, a contrast from Man of Steel kicking off the DCEU by having Superman as the first public superhero. The plan is for Legacy to start filming in early 2024, and both Gunn and his fellow DC studios co-head Peter Safran consider Legacy to be the “true beginning” of the DC Universe. That said, the animated Max series Creatures Commandos will precede it, and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle is also considered to be part of this new continuity.
Superman: Legacy hits theaters on July 11, 2025. While we wait to learn who will comprise the movie’s main cast, revisit Superman’s past movie and TV appearances with your Max subscription.
