Why 'Superman' star Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor as 'alpha' cult leader
The billionaire tech bro is the kind of baddie that Nicholas Hoult loves to play. With guys who 'are very mixed up in their ideologies,' he can bring some understanding to their malevolence. 'There's an element of making those characters not likable, but palatable maybe,' says the British actor, who joins the ranks of Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey and Jesse Eisenberg as on-screen Lexes.
Hoult originally auditioned for Superman – a role that went to David Corenswet – but thought he might be a better Lex. Director James Gunn agreed: 'I waited for a couple weeks to let the rejection wear off and then I called him.'
Then, Gunn surrounded Supes' arch nemesis with a number of colorful characters, including dangerous right-hand woman Angela Spica (María Gabriela de Faría), aka the Engineer, and Lex's influencer girlfriend Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio).
And because it's a cult of personality, Lex's fearsome posse follows him wherever his shenanigans lead: 'He's this generous, loving guy who his employees love when he is feeling good,' Gunn says. 'But when he's feeling bad, we all know this guy.'
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Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor is mean but has some feels in 'Superman'
Lex Luthor has been a staple in Superman comics since 1940, and Hoult found inspiration in those stories where he was an 'alpha' male offended by the hero just existing as an alien on Earth. 'Because he puts in so much hard work for what he's developing and himself, it's even more frustrating that Superman is just naturally gifted and lauded and applauded for his abilities,' Hoult says.
He also saw Lex as 'a cult-like leader,' who amasses 'a lot of followers. Throughout the film you see him get picked apart and lose that, but he's managed to sculpt this image that people do like.'
Gunn adds that Hoult brought a predatory energy to the character: The first time we see him waiting for Superman to show up, 'he is like a tiger in a cage pacing back and forth.' But there's a lot of emotion to Lex as well. In one key moment, a tear streams down his face.
'I never saw him as a psychopath,' Hoult says. 'He's just got this deep, ingrained fear and hatred. Toward the end of the film, you see his plan ruined and him humiliated" as he suffers "all these things that are painful."
María Gabriela de Faría's Engineer makes a formidable Man of Steel enemy
One of Lex's most lethal weapons is a living one: Transformed by nanotechnology, the Engineer is an unpredictable foe for Superman and other heroes. She can shift into various different forms – like turning her hands into saws – and can hack into any computer system, even one that's Kryptonian.
'How does it feel to connect to the machine?' de Faría says. 'Is it painful? Is it pleasurable? Does it tickle? Every time she turned herself into something, it felt different, which made it really fun for me and also more realistic because I had something to play with my actual body.'
Like Lex, the Engineer is determined and willing to go to extremes to get what she wants, and she sees her boss as 'just means to an end,' de Faría says. 'She is deeply hurt by the world and she's deeply afraid of the path the world has taken. She has suffered the consequences for herself and she's willing to change it to make it better.
'Lex reacts and acts from envy and from being power-hungry,' the Venezuelan actress adds. 'Angela does it out of fear, and I don't know if acting out of fear is any better because we can see that they have the same consequences: pretty much destruction and pain and suffering.'
As Eve Teschmacher, Sara Sampaio is Metropolis' selfie queen
Eve Teschmacher isn't exactly menacing, but she is overly loyal to her man. And Eve has an auspicious screen debut, taking a selfie in the highest levels of LuthorCorp tower while Superman is getting smashed by a powerful enemy.
'She's like the playful part of me that I don't get to show the world very often,' says Sampaio, a Portuguese actress/model (and Victoria's Secret angel). Lex's gal pal "has this childlike wonder about her, where everything is new. She doesn't really understand what's appropriate, like when Superman is being beaten behind her. She's like, 'Oh, this is a great photo!' '
But Eve puts up with a lot. Her beau doesn't have the best history when it comes to girlfriends – most wind up imprisoned in an interdimensional pocket universe – and Lex is often seen throwing pencils at her. Sampaio came up with a backstory for her loyalty (she comes from a small city, for example, but not from wealth), though even Eve has a breaking point.
'Security, money and power can create safety in a way. She sees that Lex can provide a lifestyle for her (and) she won't have to struggle again,' Sampaio says. 'When she realizes that safety actually is not really there, she makes sure she always has a plan B, that she can escape and take care of herself. But I think everyone gets excited about handsome, powerful rich guys sometimes.'
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Boston Globe
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Does pop music need a retirement age?
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Geek Girl Authority
an hour ago
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SUPERMAN Spoiler Review
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Mr. Terrific and Lois arrive at Lex's camp, and there's a really cool scene of Terrific and his T-spheres (not circles, as Lois calls them) kicking Lex's goons' butts while Lois stays shielded in a force-field dome. Then, they find the entrance to the pocket universe, but Terrific warns that opening the portal as many times as Lex has will have catastrophic consequences. RELATED: Final Destination: Bloodlines Spoiler Review They manage to find Supes, Metamorpho, Baby Joey and Krypto and rescue them before the portal collapses. Metamorpho and Baby Joey disappear into the wilderness. Weakened from fighting, Lois has Terrific take them to Smallville, to the Kents' (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell) house. The next morning, Supes talks with his dad, troubled over knowing what the right thing is to do. Jonathan says that it's Supes' choices that make him who he is, not the message from Jor-El. Jonathan says he couldn't be prouder of him. Finding out that Supes escaped, Lex goes apesh*t, even throwing things at Miss Teschmacher, calling her an idiot. Fed up, she hides in the server room and calls Jimmy, saying she'll send him everything he needs to take Lex down. Ultraman finds her, though, and drags her out. Jimmy's frustrated when all he gets from her are a bunch of selfies. Edi Gathegi, Rachel Brosnahan in Superman He shows them to Lois, who realizes there's important information in the backgrounds of all her selfies. They take the info to Perry, and the whole gang gets into Mr. Terrific's ship to go chasing after Lex. Meanwhile, Lex opens the pocket universe again to imprison Miss Teschmacher and ends up causing a spatial rift that starts ripping Metropolis in half. While that's happening, the Boravian army prepares to invade Jarhanpur, and the poor people of Jarhanpur stand ready to fight even though they're outgunned. Some of the children raise flags with Superman's emblem on them and call out for his help. RELATED: Drop Spoiler Review Terrific tells Supes to handle what's going on in Metropolis first, as the black hole will destroy the city. While he's trying to save as many people as he can, Ultraman enters the fray and starts wailing on Supes, using fight moves programmed by Lex, who reveals that Ultraman is actually a clone of Supes (which is how they were able to get into the Fortress of Solitude). This seems to give Lex the upper hand on Supes, who then super-whistles for Krypto. The dog arrives, and Supes tells him to 'take the toys.' Krypto proceeds to snatch all of Lex's camera drones, which blinds him. Supes then tosses Ultraman into the path of a bus that's flying toward the black hole, and that takes care of that. He also fights and defeats The Engineer, but she remains alive. Meanwhile, up in Terrific's ship, Jimmy types up Lois' story about Lex, and Perry approves it. Jimmy uploads it and releases it to the public, so the whole world learns of Lex's deal with the Boravian president and his designs on becoming king of Jarhanpur. Skyler Gisondo, Rachel Brosnahan in Superman Speaking of Jarhanpur, the Justice Gang comes to the rescue there. Guy and Metamorpho take care of the troops while Hawkgirl flies to the Boravian castle and grabs the president, who sneers that she won't kill him. She laughs – and drops him, letting him fall to his death. Supes busts into Lex's HQ, and Terrific gets into the computer to seal up the rift. Lex tells Supes he engineered the whole Boravia/Jarhanpur conflict to kill him, and how envious he is. That's what it all boils down to. Jealousy. Supes tells Lex he's just as human and imperfect as anyone else. Then, Krypto runs in and gives Lex a thrashing for good measure before he's arrested. RELATED: The Woman in The Yard Spoiler Review Supes finds Lois after the dust settles, and they go off to do an 'interview.' Perry then asks Jimmy how long they've been a thing, and he's like, a while. Supes and Lois do their adorable kissing in midair thing, and she tells him she loves him, too. Aww. Metamorpho ends up joining the Justice Gang when he tells Guy he likes the name. After all the prisoners are freed from Lex's prison, Miss Teschmacher and Jimmy get together. Also aww. Supes returns to the Fortress, where the robots have managed to put themselves back together. Robot #4 asks to have a real name, so he becomes Gary. Supes' cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Milly Alcock), shows up, acting drunk. Gary says she's been partying on worlds with red suns, where she can actually get drunk. She sarcastically thanks Supes for looking after Krypto. While Supes recharges under the sun, Gary puts on video footage of his parents to soothe him – footage of the Kents. Nicholas Hoult, David Corenswet in Superman And lastly, two mid-credit scenes – one of Supes and Krypto cuddling on the moon, and the other of Supes talking with Terrific. Supes points out that the buildings in the city are all uneven now. Terrific's like, 'Are you kidding me?' He storms off, and Supes is like, 'Oh, man. I can really be a jerk sometimes.' *** There's no official number of versions of Superman in the comics, but it's well over 100. And that's just the comics. When you add in all the movie and TV versions, it's a dizzying number of interpretations. So, considering this, it's safe to say it's pretty much impossible to create the perfect version of Supes who will satisfy everyone. That said, there are some versions that are more beloved than others. One of the most notable being director Richard Donner's version from 1978, starring the late, great Christopher Reeve. Even though it isn't particularly faithful to the comic source material, the flick blew everyone away with its epic storytelling, huge amounts of fun and a Man of Steel that everyone could believe in. I think that's mostly what James Gunn wants to give us with his new version. RELATED: Movie Review: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina While I enjoy and appreciate Gunn's many, many homages to Donner's Superman (which is my personal favorite), I don't think he needs to lean on it quite so much. The score is mostly a riff on John Williams' famous themes, the titles are done pretty much the same way, the Fortress of Solitude is the same ice/crystal castle, the inclusion of Miss Teschmacher (who's admittedly fun), and on and on. It feels more derivative than homage-y, and it really doesn't need to be like that, as Gunn has enough vision to make it entirely his own. I do give Gunn props, though, for balancing so many characters. Usually, when you have that many, the main character fades into the background. But the Justice Gang supported and participated without hogging the spotlight. Although I will say that Edi Gathegi's Mr. Terrific was such a scene-stealer that I hope we get to see a lot more of him. And Krypto turned out to be a welcome addition instead of just a goofy distraction. Pruitt Taylor Vince, David Corenswet in Superman What disappoints me most, though, is Lex Luthor, who's undoubtedly one of the greatest villain characters ever created. Nicholas Hoult is a terrific actor, so I was really looking forward to his portrayal. On the upside, his Lex is the genius he's supposed to be. He creates pocket universes and has a literal army of trained monkeys handling his social media. But the downside is that that's really all there is to him. He's got nothing else going on except rage and an all-consuming envy of Superman that doesn't make a lot of sense. That's not at all how he should be. Lex should be smooth, savvy and have a personality that charms as it simultaneously chills. RELATED: Movie Review: The Phoenician Scheme I also had a huge issue with the portrayal of Jonathan and Martha Kent. They come off looking and sounding like the biggest, dumbest hillbilly hicks who ever lived. So much so that if I were from Kansas, I'd be insulted. Thankfully, their scenes are few and short. But what's most important to me is Superman. Honestly, I don't really care about the Justice Gang or even Supergirl and all the other metahumans. What matters is that Supes is done right, and David Corenswet does a fantastic job. His Supes gets a lot more hurt – physically and emotionally – than any other version. And he plays the hell out of showing the turmoil he goes through. Despite the flick's flaws, one thing is clear throughout – that Superman fights to champion goodness in a world that doesn't value it. And that's mainly what James Gunn wanted to stress. I think he also wanted to just make it fun, and there's tons to be had. Sure, Superman isn't perfect. However, there's no version that will ever be. I think Gunn's vision is a welcome addition to a hugely diverse canon. The most important thing? I'm excited to see more. Written and Directed by: James Gunn Release date: Jul 11, 2025 Rating: PG-13 Run time: 2hr 9min Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures / DC Studios M3GAN 2.0 Spoiler Review
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Watch: David Corenswet snuck into Philadelphia screening of 'Superman'
July 15 (UPI) -- Superman star David Corenswet says he snuck into an IMAX screening of his hit film in Philadelphia. The actor, 32, discussed his decision to do so when he stopped by The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon Monday. Corenswet said he felt self-conscious when he viewed the film for the first time at its premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. "So I snuck into the back of an IMAX screening... outside of Philly with a couple of friends," he said. He added that by the end of the film, the audience felt like family because of their reactions to his character. Corenswet then explained why he didn't watch the movie until its Los Angeles premiere. "Usually, I watch a movie early if I'm nervous," he told Fallon. "I want to get my self-conscious viewing out of the way, early. But when I started seeing the trailers, I kind of got the feeling of what it might be to watch the movie as an audience member, and there was this uplifting energy and this feeling of inspiration. It feels like the movies that I grew up watching that I loved. So I wanted to preserve the experience." The film grossed some $122 million over the weekend, becoming the No. 1 feature in North America.
