Nicholas Hoult Not Getting To Play Superman Actually Makes Him The Perfect Lex Luthor

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Harvey Dent was talking about Batman in that quote from "The Dark Knight," but those words may resonate a little differently for actor Nicholas Hoult these days. Last night, word came out that Hoult has been cast as Lex Luthor in James Gunn's "Superman: Legacy," the film that will kick off a new (and hopefully improved) DC Universe on the big screen. In a fascinating twist, Hoult also auditioned for the role of Clark Kent/Superman in that film, but ended up losing that part to David Corenswet. Before that, he made it down to the final two contenders for the role of DC's other most iconic male hero, Batman, in director Matt Reeves' film, before losing out on that role to Robert Pattinson.

Coming so close to playing the two most iconic heroes in the entire DC roster is brutal, but Hoult has taken a classy stance about this in the past, so there's no reason to assume he harbors any sort of bitterness about those casting decisions. Still, as audience members, it will be fun to place that extra meta layer of knowledge over our view of Hoult's performance as Lex Luthor, a character who has often been depicted as feeling stymied by and inferior to Superman.

Don't feel too bad for Hoult, who had his hero moment when he played Beast in the recent "X-Men" films. But frankly, I think he's a better fit for Luthor than the Man of Steel. He's a versatile actor, but to me, his true strength lies in heightened, almost absurd comedy (see: "The Favorite," "The Great," "The Menu"), and Lex Luthor is nothing if not just a little absurd. (Remember Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor from the DCEU? Remember how that movie contained a literal jar of piss? Very normal stuff there.) Here's hoping James Gunn lets his actor put his own unhinged spin on Luthor, because I'm always in the market for another unhinged Hoult performance. A free piece of advice for Mr. Gunn, though: Maybe don't include a jar of piss.

For more on Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, listen to today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast:

We also touch on a new Jason Bourne movie in the works, the announcement of "Frozen 4," and more.

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