We have seen multiple adaptations of Superman in various media franchises, from live-action to video games. However, not a lot of them have received as much acclaim as Superman: The Animated Series did.
A lot of talented actors and designers were also associated with the project back in the 90s. However, when it came to creating a character design for the iconic villain of Lex Luthor, instead of trying to design the character like the comics, the designers tried to copy the badass look of this iconic James Bond villain from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The design of Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series was based on Telly Savalas
Superman is arguably one of the most popular superheroes of all time. The Kryptonian resident is one of those characters that fit the perfect definition of a Superhero and is one of the strongest characters in the DC Universe.
It is hard to mention a Superman franchise without mentioning the Man of Steel’s archnemesis, Lex Luthor, who has also been portrayed by a lot of talented actors over the years. Lex Luthor is often depicted as a mad scientist and genius in the series. Although the character has no superpowers as such, he is still able to put many superheroes in tricky situations just by his tactics and intensive planning.
In Superman: The Animated Series, Lex Luthor was shown as a very tall individual, almost the same height as Superman and very well built. However, it was later revealed on the show’s DVD commentary features that the character was designed based on Telly Savalas’ portrayal of iconic villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is one of the most iconic villains in the history of the James Bond franchise and has also been portrayed by multiple actors over the years. The ideologies and tactics of Blofeld are quite similar to those of Lex Luthor as both villains rely more on their genius than their brawn while taking on their enemies.
Nicholas Hoult will play the role of Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy
James Gunn decided to reboot the DC Universe with The Flash movie last year and perfectly executed the Flashpoint storyline for the same. As a result, we will be seeing a lot of new actors take up the role of already-existing characters that we have seen in the DCU, courtesy of Barry Allen messing up the timeline.
Nicholas Hoult will be taking up the role of Lex Luthor in the upcoming Superman movie and on the Inside of You podcast, the actor recently revealed he started working out for the role as well. He said,
“I have been working out. There’s that bit in ‘All-Star Superman’ where he talks about his muscles being real and hard work and all that. I kind of took that as a little bit of a fuel for the fire.”
Nicholas Hoult further revealed that he doesn’t think that Lex Luthor will have any shirtless scenes in the movie but it is a good thing that he wants to get in shape for the role. David Corenswet will be portraying the role of Clark Kent aka Superman in the upcoming movie.
Superman: Legacy will allegedly be released next year on July 11, 2025.
