Superman: Not Nicholas Hoult, this Guardians of the Galaxy star was James Gunn’s original choice for Lex Luthor

Superman has kick-started the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. The film was released on July 11, 2025, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is written and directed by James Gunn, who has also co-produced it with Peter Safran. Here is its official synopsis as per Letterboxd,

"Superman, a journalist in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent."

Nicholas Hoult plays the role of the film's antagonist, Lex Luthor. But Gunn's initial choice was not Hoult but an actor who has appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy. Let's find out who he was.

James Gunn wanted THIS actor to play Lex Luthor in Superman

While fans might have loved Nicholas Hoult's performance as Lex Luthor in the film, we could have seen another actor play the part. Director James Gunn recently appeared on Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz where he revealed that he spoke to Guardians of the Galaxy actor Bradley Cooper for the role.

"I did talk to Bradley about it. We had a short conversation and at the end, [...] I did want Lex to be someone that was more [a] contemporary of Superman's."

He added,

"Lex Luthor is important to Superman [and] " to the future of the DC universe."

While Gunn stated that he wanted a younger actor for the part, he praised Cooper and said,

"Bradley would have been a great Lex. I mean... Bradley's great at everything."

While he couldn't play the protagonist, Cooper did have a cameo in the film as Jor-El, the birth father of Kal-El. Talking about it, Gunn said,

"I needed somebody who could play Jor-El — and I don’t think this is a spoiler, everybody knows about this — who had the stature of what we imagine that character being, somebody who could walk in the footsteps of Marlon Brando."

The director further explained that Cooper was fit to play Jor-El.