See The Perfect Lex Luthor For Superman: Legacy
Glenn Howerton is known for playing evil and disturbed characters, but can he step into Lex Luthor’s boots and go toe-to-toe with Superman? The world may soon find out because James Gunn is a Howerton fan. Over the weekend, Howerton posted fan art of himself reimagined as Lex Luthor, causing speculation he was hinting he’d been offered the role.
In addition to being one of the creators of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Glenn Howerton stars as one of the show’s most despicable characters. According to a recent article in ComicBook.com, the world may soon find out if Howerton has what it takes to play the brilliant antagonist Lex Luthor.
Glenn Howerton reposted fan art that was made of him as Superman’s chief antagonist, Lex Luthor.
For fifteen years, Howerton’s role as Dennis Reynolds has gone through a lot of reveals, trials and tribulations. He’s a womanizer of the worst sort, has perfected the D.E.N.N.I.S. method of seducing sorority girls and later videotaping them during romantic interludes, but could he really be a supervillain? That question, so far, hasn’t been answered in the series.
Dennis Reynolds is certainly evil, but he’s more predator than archvillain, more a Batman villain than a Superman one. Of course, Howerton is certainly capable of adding layers of villainy to his repertoire.
Still, Lex Luthor is an iconic villain. Superman fans have been given Gene Hackman as the menace to Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Jesse Eisenberg in Batman v. Superman, and those two versions of the character are miles apart. Hackman played Lex Luthor for some laughs, and Eisenberg was twisted and malicious.
James Gunn has been surprising in his selections for the new DCU so far, and he’s not a guy who’s afraid to take chances. His version of Peacemaker was polarizing to old fans of the Charlton Comics character.
Lex Luthor has been part of the Superman mythology almost from the beginning. His first appearance showed him as a red-haired man. The baldness didn’t come in till later, and that made him a bookend for the villain Brainiac.
Michael Rosenbaum was an excellent Luthor in Smallville, and even James Gunn thinks so.
CW’s Arrowverse featured Jon Cryer as Lex. Cryer didn’t seem like a lock for Lex Luthor, but he did an excellent job as the villain. Michael Cudlitz stars as Luthor in Season 3 of Superman & Lois. Cudlitz is a Walking Dead veteran and is used to heavy and menacing stories, so he brings a lot of threat and emotional weight to the role.
Over the history of the comics, Lex Luthor has been an evil genius, a ruthless businessman, President of the United States, and even an ally to Superman against alien invaders.
Cudlitz’s version of Luthor shows no signs of having been a friend to Clark Kent in his younger years. Of course, fans have learned that Superman & Lois exists in its own universe.
James Gunn has been surprising in his selections for the new DCU so far, and he’s not a guy who’s afraid to take chances. His version of Peacemaker was polarizing to old fans of the Charlton Comics character. If anyone can write Glenn Howerton into a menacing Lex Luthor, Gunn can, and Howerton definitely has acting chops for playing evil characters.
Over the history of the comics, Lex Luthor has been an evil genius, a ruthless businessman, President of the United States, and even an ally to Superman against alien invaders.
For now, Gunn is very tight-lipped about his Superman movie, and his potential selection of Glenn Howerton as Lex Luthor has got fans wondering how that would work. Gunn feels that Howerton has range. The director came close to casting the actor as Peter Quill, Star-Lord, in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
