Exclusive – Daniel Craig Offered Lex Luthor In Superman: Legacy
Update May 2023: Superman: Legacy completed its casting, and Nicholas Hoult is in the role of Lex Luthor.
We may know exactly how the next Lex Luthor likes his martinis. Our trusted and proven sources tell us that DC Studios has officially offered Daniel Craig, the former James Bond, the role of Lex Luthor in the upcoming Superman: Legacy.
This news comes not long after other casting news about the DCU’s flagship feature. Per Deadline, it was just a couple of weeks ago that David Corenswet (Pearl) was confirmed as the new Clark Kent/Superman — replacing Henry Cavill who played the hero since 2013’s Man of Steel — while Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) will join him as Lois Lane.
We’ve exclusively learned that Daniel Craig of James Bond fame has been offered the role of Lex Luthor in the upcoming Superman: Legacy.
Not long after came the news that Nathan Fillion (Firefly) will play Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) will play Mister Terrific, and Isabela Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight) will play Hawkgirl.
The Lex Luthors Before Daniel Craig
If Daniel Craig says yes to playing Lex Luthor, he will join what has so far been a fairly uneven cinematic casting history of Superman’s nemesis, at least as far as live-action films are concerned. Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) was the last to play the wealthy villain in a live-action feature, and fan reaction to his portrayal was mixed at best.
Before Eisenberg was Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) in 2006’s Superman Returns, and of course there was Gene Hackman (The French Connection) in the 1970s and 1980s film series led by the late Christopher Reeve. While Hackman was generally well-received at the time, even James Gunn has gone on record that he doesn’t see that version of Luthor to be particularly compelling.
If nothing else, as Daniel Craig considers the potential of playing Lex Luthor, he won’t have to fret over “filling big shoes.” Luthor is one of the few characters from either Marvel or DC whose television portrayals are historically the ones lauded by fans. Both Smallville‘s Michael Rosenbaum and the Arrowverse’s Jon Cryer get a lot more fan love than, say, Eisenberg.
Daniel Craig has played villains before — most notably the mobster Connor in 2002’s Road to Perdition — but never a bad guy as iconic as Lex Luthor.
Should Daniel Craig say yes to Lex Luthor, it will mark his first entry into either of the big superhero cinematic universes. It was ultimately confirmed that there were plans for Craig to play the Asgardian character Balder the Brave in last year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but for reasons that remain a mystery, that appearance never happened.
A role like this has the potential to be a first for Craig, considering so far he’s mostly identified with the heroic characters James Bond and Benoit Blanc of the Knives Out films. Daniel Craig has played villains before — most notably the mobster Connor in 2002’s Road to Perdition — but never a bad guy as iconic as Lex Luthor.
Of course for now all we know is that Daniel Craig has been offered the role of Lex Luthor, but we don’t know yet what his answer will be. As soon as we learn more, we’ll make sure you know.
Superman: Legacy is due to hit theaters two years from now, almost (but not quite) to the day, on July 11, 2025.
UPDATE: James Gunn responded to our report via Threads saying that Daniel Craig has not been offered the role of Lex Luther in Superman: Legacy. However, our source insists their information is accurate and that Gunn is not giving fans the full story. For information on why or how there might be controversy here, and what that means for our overall credibility, go here.
