Lex Luthor Has Been Recast
Jon Cryer will no longer be playing Lex Luthor in The CW and his replacement has yet to be announced.
Get your tissues ready: fan-favorite Jon Cryer will not be returning to the CW’s Arrowverse as Lex Luthor in Superman & Lois. According to MovieWeb, Superman may be facing his archenemy in the show’s third season, but he will be played by another actor. Cryer himself confirmed this on Twitter, saying that even if he had been asked back, it wouldn’t have worked out with his schedule.
“Would’ve been fun,” he said, “But I’m not sure I could’ve played Lex on Superman & Lois even if they wanted to do this.”
“I’m supposed to start shooting a new series for NBC in February,” he finished, adding that the showrunners were “very cool” and let him know about their decision not to bring him back as Lex Luthor before they started the casting process for another actor. Usually, actors find out they are being replaced when the news hits the media, so this was actually a “classy” move from DC.
Jon Cryer had previously played the role of Lex Luthor on Supergirl. The villain was eventually written off the show, but Cryer returned to play him again in the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths event, where he crossed over into other superhero shows like Arrow, Batwoman, and The Flash.
Although he now seems totally at peace with DC’s decision, Cryer had expressed a desire to return to the role of Lex Luthor after Supergirl ended. He (understandably) thought that perhaps there could be a place for the character on Superman & Lois, and said that, while his character’s story arc came to a natural end on the former series, he would also still “want to honor this version of the character” and would be “happy to find a way to come back and be a part of that.”
It has not yet been announced who the new Lex Luthor will be (or even concretely confirmed that he will appear in season 3, according to ScreenRant), but the show has created an opening for the villain to appear. The third season’s plot details seem to include Superman fighting the Intergang, which is sometimes led by Lex Luthor in the Superman comic book series.
It has also already been established that Lex Luthor does exist in the Superman & Lois universe, because both characters believed that John Henry Irons (Wolé Parks) was related to him back in season one.
So, Lex Luthor is most likely coming to the series, but who will play him is still a mystery.
Jon Cryer’s future, on the other hand, is much clearer. While he played a great villain as Lex Luthor, the Two and a Half Men alum is returning to comedy in the new sitcom for NBC he was referring to in his recent tweet. The show revolves around Cryer’s character, who has recently divorced his wife, played by Abigail Spencer, and who agrees to take turns living in the family’s home with their children.
Things get complicated when Scrubs’ Donald Faison’s character begins dating his wife.
So, there is no need to cry for Jon Cryer, as he will have plenty to do in the upcoming year on his new show. Fans of his version of Lex Luthor, though, will just have to hope DC will bring him back during some other massive, universe-jumping crossover event in the Arrowverse at some point in the future.
