Having appeared in the majority of Superman’s big screen outings, Lex Luthor is undeniably one of the most well-known comic book villains of all time. His company, LexCorp, was referenced several times in Man Of Steel, leading to speculation that Luthor himself will be featured in the sequel (which is currently on the fast-track at Warner Bros.). Many fans have expressed interest in seeing another villain take on Superman in the next film, rather than see Luthor yet again. Personally, I really want to see somebody else as the primary adversary in Man Of Steel 2 (preferably Brainiac), with Lex in a supporting role. Love or hate him, it’s debatable that we have yet to see the true Lex Luthor on the big screen, and we would finally have our chance to see that version in this new series. With that in mind, I compiled a list of five actors who I think would be excellent choices to play Superman’s arch nemesis on the big screen.
#5 - Josh Brolin (True Grit, Men In Black 3) The most out-of-the-box choice on the list, the very talented Josh Brolin has plenty of CBM experience under his belt. Not only has he starred in
Jonah Hex and
Men In Black 3, but he will also be seen in October’s
Oldboy remake and next year’s
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. In
True Grit, he showed a villainous side to his acting chops. With that in mind, I think he would be a great (and different) choice to portray Lex Luthor on film. Plus, he has the looks and is around the age range that Lex should be. The only problem: With
Jonah Hex being such a big failure for WB, will they want to bring Brolin back for another DC film?
#4 - Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes, Road To Perdition) A self-professed comic book fan, Law recently expressed interest in appearing in a superhero film at some point. He has a good relationship with WB after co-starring in the current
Sherlock Holmes franchise, and he does an excellent job playing villains (just watch his voice performance in
Rise Of The Guardians to see what I mean). While I can think of other comic book characters he’d be great as (Mr. Freeze, Brainiac, etc.), I wouldn’t complain at all if he was cast as Lex Luthor or even just considered for the role.
#3 - Guy Pearce (Prometheus, Iron Man 3) Pearce is easily one of the top fan-favorite choices to play Lex Luthor, and for good reason. He has the looks for the iconic antagonist, and he usually does a great job portraying villains. Not to mention that he’s a great actor all-around. Despite appearing in Marvel’s
Iron Man 3, the actor doesn’t seem to be terribly interested in comic book movies. Of course, he could make another exception in playing Luthor if he likes the script. But will he be interested in the multi-picture deals that are sure to come with such a familiar character in the DC Universe?
#2 - Mark Strong (Green Lantern, Sherlock Holmes) Another fan-favorite, Strong is undeniably one of the greatest choices for Lex out there. Not only does he have the looks and voice, but he does a brilliant job portraying villains. The biggest problem in this casting, obviously, is that he has already played Sinestro in
Green Lantern (and did an incredible job doing so). It’s unknown whether or not we’ll get a sequel or a reboot, but the latter is more likely at this point due to that film being a box office and critical failure. Still, I would love to see Strong return as Sinestro in the DC Cinematic Universe regardless of his connections to the first film, but WB will likely reboot the character entirely. In that case, he could be open to portraying Lex Luthor.
#1 - Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Sucker Punch) Yes, I became a fan of this idea when I saw Hamm’s “Funny Or Die” video in which he portrayed Superman’s arch nemesis. Comedic tone aside, Hamm captured the look and feel of Lex wonderfully, and I can see him transferring that over to a far more serious take on the villain in a
Man Of Steel sequel. He has plenty of experience playing a businessman in
Mad Men, and he previously worked with director Zack Snyder on
Sucker Punch. Again, Hamm is around the age range that Luthor should be in. I can’t think of any major problem that would hinder this casting to come to pass, unless Hamm might be too busy continuing work on
Mad Men to move onto the silver screen in a big DCCU role.
Honorable Mentions: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) You can check out
Man Of Steel in theaters now. Click
HERE to read my 4.5* review.