Nicholas Hoult is playing Lex Luthor in 'Superman: Legacy': James Gunn

Los Angeles: Filmmaker James Gunn has confirmed that actor Nicholas Hoult will be essaying the role of Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor in "Superman: Legacy".

Gunn, the co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios, shared the news on Threads and also posted with the English actor, who is known for starring in movies such as "X-Men" franchise, "Mad Max: Fury Road", "The Favourite" and Hulu series "The Great".

"Yes, finally I can answer, Nicholas Hoult is Lex Luthor in #SupermanLegacy and I couldn’t be happier. We went out to dinner last night to celebrate & discuss how we can create a Lex that will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget.

"'But, James, we heard this weeks ago, why didn’t you tell us it was true?' Because, although we were discussing it, it wasn’t final until a couple days ago and I don’t want to tell you all something that isn’t certain," the filmmaker said.

In feature films, the character of Lex Luthor was earlier portrayed by Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey and Jesse Eisenberg.

Hoult joins previously announced cast members David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, who are set to play Superman/ Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively, in the reboot based on the popular DC character.

Also part of "Superman: Legacy" cast are Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Skyler Gisondo and Sara Sampaio. The film is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2025.