Will Superman: Legacy Star A James Bond Actor As Lex Luthor? James Gunn Responds
James Gunn is once again cooling rampant casting speculation regarding his upcoming film "Superman: Legacy" — except instead of Kryptonian ice breath, the writer-slash-director has opted to use his new Threads account.
After news broke in the days leading up to the official start of the SAG-AFTRA strike that Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, and Anthony Carrigan would be joining David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in Gunn's DC Films debut, rumor sites began circulating that next on the impressive roster would be none other than "James Bond" star Daniel Craig. He would supposedly play the iconic "Superman" villain Lex Luthor, following in the footsteps of Jesse Eisenberg ("Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Justice League") and Kevin Spacey ("Superman Returns").
However, once this claim made its way onto Gunn's social media feed, the DC Films co-CEO and chair took little time to deny its voracity. "That's not true," he said in response to a Thread he was mentioned in. This isn't the first time the former "Guardians of the Galaxy" director has spoken about Lex Luthor, though he continues to play coy about firm plans to include him in the film.
Will Lex Luthor be in Superman: Legacy?
Given how far we are from the film's release, it isn't entirely surprising that James Gunn has kept quiet about who the "Superman: Legacy" villain will be. It's Gunn himself who largely fuels the unusual immediacy of this speculation with his cryptic social media posts and early casting announcements (though the latter factor may be a side effect of Gunn wanting to get ahead of the then-impending SAG-AFTRA strike). If fans weren't already aware of so many cast members, perhaps they wouldn't also expect to know who'd be playing Lex Luthor.
But Gunn has gone out of his way to disperse any assumptions that Luthor will appear in the film at all. Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast, the director seemingly denied there were any plans to bring the character to screen in "Superman: Legacy." "Everyone thinks there's a Lex Luthor character [in "Superman: Legacy"]," he said, "[but] I've never said there was a Lex Luthor character."
However, he did acknowledge a plea from Rosenbaum (who famously played the character in the CW series "Smallville," and is considered by many — including Gunn — to be the definitive Lex Luthor) for Gunn to hire an actor with "gravitas" who will present a "grounded and real" take on the character. Gunn responded pragmatically: "Everything's grounded and real."
James Gunn struggles with responding to every casting rumor
Earlier in the same interview, James Gunn spoke openly about how challenging it was dealing with the media speculation revolving around the "Superman: Legacy" casting process, specifically with regards to Clark Kent-slash-Superman and Lois Lane (the interview was recorded before the confirmations of David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in the leading roles). In the weeks before the official announcement, numerous publications of various sizes and reputability claimed exclusive knowledge about the process, especially when it came to which A-list actors were screen-testing for comics' most famous couple.
"I don't think it's the business of anyone who's screen-testing for a role," said Gunn. "That is a very private thing." Though, he later admitted that "journalists have to do what they have to do — that's their job." He expressed apparent frustration that a lot of their sources are feeding them bad information on purpose — even when the journalists believe they're dealing with a first-hand source.
He revealed, "They find out some things from [talent agencies], but here's the problem: They find out some things from agencies that might be true, [and] they find out other things from agencies which are agencies pushing their clients ... There's a lot of nonsense that comes out of it." That said, if or when an actor finally lands the part of Lex Luthor in Gunn's new universe, fans likely won't have to wait long before the director confirms it on social media.