The Good Citizens of Metropolis: The Casting Thread

[Kane52630]

Theo James - Lex.

A young, entrepreneur, Musk-type. Lex Luthor makes science and robotics "sexy".

 

[Alien Anal]

Theo looks like someone that would be considered for Supes. I feel they should have a very different look from one another.

 

[Sawyer]

I’m sorry, I have to put my foot down on Musk-inspiration. It’s gonna be one of my few vetoes.

 

[Alien Anal]

I’m sorry, I have to put my foot down on Musk-inspiration. It’s gonna be one of my few vetoes.

What do you think it means when people use the idea of Musk as an inspiration? What do you envision?

 

[Sawyer]

What do you think it means when people use the idea of Musk as an inspiration? What do you envision?

With so many innovators in history to draw inspiration from, you’d have to zero in on something specific to point to and say “There’s Lex.”

At this point, his persona is overshadowing whatever tech accomplishments he’s made, and unfortunately, his persona is dog****.

 

[Alien Anal]

With so many innovators in history to draw inspiration from, you’d have to zero in on something specific to point to and say “There’s Lex.”

At this point, his persona is overshadowing whatever tech accomplishments he’s made, and unfortunately, his persona is dog****.

His persona overshadows the tech now but that wasn't always the way, he was well-liked and people thought what he was doing was brilliant. It wasn't till he started opening his mouth more and became a bigger celebrity that people began to turn on him and he went in that ****ty direction.

But for a time he was an interesting character that everyone thought was going to take us into the future. It's those little bits that I look at and think yeh you could sample parts of his history to build a Lex character, I certainly don't think people want Lex to just be Musk with a shaved head.

Just like you can sample parts of Trump and apply those to the structure of Lex, once again I don't think people want a bald Trump as Lex. It's just about taking aspects of people in modern society that are having huge impacts on technology and politics that can be used as a small part of the framework just as there are many other people we can look at and use.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Rich businessman Lex Luthor has been in the comics for over 30 years so I think there is enough source material to draw from. Why do we need to use Elon Musk as a major influence just because he's the current rich ******* that people are mad at? Wouldn't that if anything date the movie horribly in 20 years? I mean Snyder gave us Jesse Eisenberg as Lex which felt like he was trying to make him a Mark Zuckerberg type, and it ages even worse now, which shows the pitfalls of trying too hard to be contemporary. Just stick to the comics. Look at what has stuck around for 30 years and try to stay true to that.

 

[Alien Anal]

Rich businessman Lex Luthor has been in the comics for over 30 years so I think there is enough source material to draw from. Why do we need to use Elon Musk as a major influence just because he's the current rich ******* that people are mad at? Wouldn't that if anything date the movie horribly in 20 years? I mean Snyder gave us Jesse Eisenberg as Lex which felt like he was trying to make him a Mark Zuckerberg type, and it ages even worse now, which shows the pitfalls of trying too hard to be contemporary. Just stick to the comics. Look at what has stuck around for 30 years and try to stay true to that.

I feel like what I say falls on deaf ears. I don't mean to be insulting but if you read what I said you'll see that I said it's just about taking samples, which could be the smallest parts... not a major influence.

Cobain was an inspiration for The Batman but you didn't see Bruce rocking ripped jeans and a cardigan, shooting up heroin, or talking about how rich people are Richards.

 

[Marvel Unified]

Rich businessman Lex Luthor has been in the comics for over 30 years so I think there is enough source material to draw from. Why do we need to use Elon Musk as a major influence just because he's the current rich ******* that people are mad at? Wouldn't that if anything date the movie horribly in 20 years? I mean Snyder gave us Jesse Eisenberg as Lex which felt like he was trying to make him a Mark Zuckerberg type, and it ages even worse now, which shows the pitfalls of trying too hard to be contemporary. Just stick to the comics. Look at what has stuck around for 30 years and try to stay true to that.

But that's not true. Luthor has not stayed the same for 30 years. Like every other character in fiction, he's changed, and evolved with the times. He's been an allegory for a lot of different people, yes, including Trump. There's numerous interpretations of Lex, he's never just been a generic business archetype.

And that's not interesting. A Superman movie set in 2025 that doesn't have anything to say about the contemporary culture it exists in, is not interesting. You say it makes the movie dated, I say it makes the movie weightless, and irrelevant.

The absence of contemporary cultural markers, does not make a movie "timeless". Contrary to popular belief, all movies are a product of their time. Citizen Kane is a product of it's time. But it's ideas, it's *themes*, are timeless, universal. That's what we hone in on when we watch such classics, not the absence of Smartphones.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

But that's exactly true either. Luthor, like every other character in fiction, has changed, and evolved with the times. Luthor has an allegory for a lot of different figures, yes, including Trump. He's never just been some generic business archetype.

So why does he need to be based on one single one? Isn't Lex supposed to represent ALL evil billionaires?

And quite simply put, that's not interesting. A Superman movie set in 2025 that doesn't have anything to say about the contemporary culture it exists in, is not interesting. You say it makes the movie dated, I say the movie weightless, and irrelevant.

Making Lex Luthor an Elon Musk type or a Donald Trump type is not interesting. If you write Lex Luthor well, the audience would be able to see whatever they hate about current billionaires in him because that version of the character has lasted in the comics for over 30 years. That is why Clancy Brown's version in Superman The Animated Series continues to work, while Eisenberg's take does not.

The absence of contemporary cultural markers, does not make a movie "timeless". Contrary to popular belief, all movies are a product of their time. Citizen Kane is a product of it's time. But it's ideas, it's *themes*, are timeless, universal. That's what we hone in on when we watch such classics, not the absence of Smartphones.

Should the real world be reflected in these movies? Absolutely. But I am leery on a version of Lex Luthor that is too much a "insert current hated rich ******* here" analog. That just feels like it dates the movie before the movie has even come out. I would like this Superman movie to hold up in 10, 20 years, the way I feel movies like The Dark Knight have and will continue to do.

 

[Alien Anal]

So why does he need to be based on one single one? Isn't Lex supposed to represent ALL evil billionaires?



Making Lex Luthor an Elon Musk type or a Donald Trump type is not interesting. If you write Lex Luthor well, the audience would be able to see whatever they hate about current billionaires in him because that version of the character has lasted in the comics for over 30 years. That is why Clancy Brown's version in Superman The Animated Series continues to work, while Eisenberg's take does not.



Should the real world be reflected in these movies? Absolutely. But I am leery on a version of Lex Luthor that is too much a "insert current hated rich ******* here" analog. That just feels like it dates the movie before the movie has even come out. I would like this Superman movie to hold up in 10, 20 years, the way I feel movies like The Dark Knight have and will continue to do.

I don't understand what you are missing, It's about using parts of these people. Not just using ONE SINGLE person.

 

[Invader Joker]

You can use Musk for Lex the same exact way that they used him for Iron Man, or the same exact way that Kurt Cobain and Howard Hughes were used for Bruce Wayne. It doesn't have to be literal, just aspects of him are fine. Succession is a show that uses a ****ton from real life people and powerful figures yet none of their characters are actually 100% like said people.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Personally I LOATHE the idea of Lex being inspired by Musk. Lex is what Musk and his looney fans THINK he is. But I don't want to see him portrayed as some showy idiot blowhard who doesn't actually know what he's doing.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

When I hear Musk I think of Edward Norton's character in Glass Onion and I really don't want that for Lex.

 

[Alien Anal]

You can use Musk for Lex the same exact way that they used him for Iron Man, or the same exact way that Kurt Cobain and Howard Hughes were used for Bruce Wayne. It doesn't have to be literal, just aspects of him are fine. Succession is a show that uses a ****ton from real life people and powerful figures yet none of their characters are actually 100% like said people.

I'm glad someone else gets it. I can't tell if people have muted me because nothing I say seems to be heard.

 

[CaptainWagner]

I'm glad someone else gets it. I can't tell if people have muted me because nothing I say seems to be heard.

I really don't think there's any contemporary billionaire that Lex should be based on. We live in an age of profoundly boring and just plain dumb rich dudes. If we really want a real-world inspiration, the closest modern analogue in terms of personality would be Steve Jobs, IMO. If I were Gunn, I'd have my Lex actor look at Fassbender's Jobs and Leo's Hughes for inspiration.

 

[Alien Anal]

But

I really don't think there's any contemporary billionaire that Lex should be based on. We live in an age of profoundly boring and just plain dumb rich dudes. If we really want a real-world inspiration, the closest modern analogue in terms of personality would be Steve Jobs, IMO. If I were Gunn, I'd have my Lex actor look at Fassbender's Jobs and Leo's Hughes for inspiration.

But it's not basing it on them, this is my entire point. Yes include Steve Jobs in the mix but just like the others don't make Lex a bald Steve Jobs, you just use elements of these real life historical figures.

 

[Iceman]

Lex is a great villain. Most of the famous real world billionaires that could have a villainous side are cringe/not cool/insecure despite their wealth. It would lessen Lex to be based on any aspect of them. To me it’s like having Superman be inspired by The Rock. Real people are not as cool as comics where you can correct or hide the embarrassing parts.

 

[Marvel Unified]

So why does he need to be based on one single one? Isn't Lex supposed to represent ALL evil billionaires?

Not exactly. Luthor has never just been a generic rich guy.

Lex is a scientist, a technological genius, and a futurist. They should take inspiration from figures who built their wealth off of being those things.

Making Lex Luthor an Elon Musk type or a Donald Trump type is not interesting. If you write Lex Luthor well, the audience would be able to see whatever they hate about current billionaires in him because that version of the character has lasted in the comics for over 30 years. That is why Clancy Brown's version in Superman The Animated Series continues to work, while Eisenberg's take does not.

Eisenberg's take on Lex didn't fail because they tried to modernize the character, it failed because Eisenberg gave a terrible performance, and he wasn't written well in the script.

Clancy Brown's Lex, while great for the purpose he served, was a generic version of the character.

Should the real world be reflected in these movies? Absolutely. But I am leery on a version of Lex Luthor that is too much a "insert current hated rich ******* here" analog. That just feels like it dates the movie before the movie has even come out. I would like this Superman movie to hold up in 10, 20 years, the way I feel movies like The Dark Knight have and will continue to do.

So did you say the same thing about Reeves basing his Bruce Wayne off of Kurt Cobain, or Bella Real off of AOC? Or James Mangold making mutants a metaphor for the Border Crisis/Immigrant children in 'Logan'? Really, ALL of the X-Men movies.

Or indeed, the Dark Knight, which was VERY much so rooted in the political climate of it's time -- Bush era conversations about the war on terror, corruption, and hyper surveillance (e.g. Patriot Act); the Joker himself is the literal embodiment of the terroristic bogeyman that the American subconscious had created.

These movies, some of the greatest in the genre, are all reflective of the times they were made.

I'm glad someone else gets it. I can't tell if people have muted me because nothing I say seems to be heard.

I think it's just people having a knee-jerk reaction to the mere mention of Musk's name, because of what he's become. But people are forgetting how he STARTED, and how well-liked he was a decade or so ago.

Musk marketed himself as a technological innovator, and a futurist. He made being a scientist, being an engineer, "cool", in the eyes of the general public. He was popular, with a charismatic personality, everybody wanted to be him.

As a matter of fact, the MCU's Tony Stark was BASED on Elon Musk! Let that sink in for a second.

His unraveling, if anything, would be a great parallel to Lex's devolution.

 

[GreenKToo]

Lex should be so wealthy and powerful that leaders of countries ask HIM for advice and or permission.

 

[7heBoss]

JAN 2023 - DC Studios Will Cast the Same Actors for Movies, TV, Games and Animation
TODAY - Warner Bros. Announces Voice Cast For Justice League: Warworld

Jensen Ackles as Batman/Bruce Wayne
Darren Criss as Superman/Clark Kent
Stana Katic as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince

You heard it everyone! Casting speculation is over, you can close the thread now. Haha

 

[Silvermoth]

Darren Criss is superman? Hmm.

 

[Boom]

SUPERMAN
Spencer House

or

Connor Swindells

LOIS LANE
Jessica Henwick

LEX LUTHOR
Glenn Howerton

 

[Deck Rickard]

I can’t see Connor Swindells as Superman. I would just be expecting him to get on a table and drop his pants.

 

[Lily Adler]

SUPERMAN
Spencer House

or

Connor Swindells

LOIS LANE
Jessica Henwick

LEX LUTHOR
Glenn Howerton

I'll go with the bottom two.