It appears Superman: Legacy has found its Lex Luthor, with Nicholas Hoult in talks to star as the DC villain. James Gunn is writing and directing Superman: Legacy, the first film in his and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe.

As previously announced, David Corenswet will star as Clark Kent/Superman, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult was reportedly one of the finalists for the role of Superman, even as he was being eyed for Luthor.

Superman: Legacy has a release date of July 11th, 2025 (bar any delays in the post-strike calendar), with Gunn expecting to film early next year. The casting search now continues for a number of characters, including the superheroes The Authority, who are expected to debut in Legacy before starring in their own film.

This won’t be Hoult’s first venture into the superhero genre: he previously played the Marvel and X-Men character Beast/Hank McCoy in multiple franchise entries, the most recent being the poorly-received X-Men: Dark Phoenix. He’s also starred in a number of high-profile genre features like Mad Max: Fury Road and zombie romance Warm Bodies. He was recently seen in horror-satire The Menu, the biopic Tolkien, and gave a hilarious performance as a modern-day Renfield opposite Nicolas Cage’s Dracula.