The Official Lex Luthor Casting Thread - Part 4

[bonoferox]

I could definitely see Noth as Luthor.

Spacey was always my dream Luthor since high school and he didn't disappoint me at all in SR, but I would have preferred to see him as the 80s businessman Luthor opposed to the Hackman version-ish one that should have been retired.

 

[batman_1989_]

Agreed.I almost wish he was cast for this project,a bit like Judi Dench in Casino Royale..

 

[Viciousjay]

Is there any rumors to who it might be?

 

[manofsteel4life]

Is there any rumors to who it might be?

The last one I heard was michael cerversis I think that's his name....rumor is he's been up for the role but for the sequel if there is one

 

[Steve Holt]

i was thinking Joseph Gordon-Levitt (and yes i'll admit this was after seeing him bald in 50/50)

 

[terry78]

It depends on if you want the skinny Lex or the kinda beefy Lex. Artists draw him either/or all the time.

 

[bonoferox]

In all honesty, I would have preferred Fishburne playing Luthor over Perry White.

 

[Dark Knight]

Ryan Gosling would be awesome

Him and Wilson would be great choices as Lex.

However, from what I understand, WB's maybe eying Gosling for the next possible set of Bat films or as The Flash!

 

[Crazy Quilt]

Um, is Luthor even supposed to be in MOS?

 

[fixxxer1022]

i though there was no lex in the movie? i hope he is at least in the end to set up a sequel.

 

[Axl Van Sixx]

I suppose they could tease him at the end for a sequel like The Joker, but I really feel like they should establish the corporate CEO Lex in Man of Steel as an important presence in Metropolis. Luthor is an integral part of Superman's mythos, as much as Lois Lane and more important than Jimmy Olsen or Perry White. He's not the kind of villain you can just ignore in one movie and have him suddenly show up in the second. Luthor needs to be visible from the beginning as a reminder of how much power he holds.

Cinematic Superman projects desperately need a definitive version of the corporate Luthor on the silver screen. The Hackman portrayal and its revival under Kevin Spacey harken back to the mad scientist Luthor without even going that far, and instead what we have is a rather bland used car salesman.

Surprising as it may seem, the best presentations of Lex Luthor have all been on television. The MOS producers should draw inspiration from two in particular:

• Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville
• Animated Lex from the 90s cartoon

 

[manofsteel4life]

I agree

 

[Rust]

I liked Rosenbaum's Lex and I liked the angle they used in Birthright.

I'm not sure they'll use it in MOS, but I prefer a multisided Lex. Lex and Clark having a history works well I think.
Showing a young, naive, optimistic and likable Lex that gets "burned" heavily and "turns to the dark side" just creates the better drama and a more interesting foe/opposer/competitor IMO.

 

[Rockstar]

I'm enjoying the exclusion of Luthor from this. The character is stale and played out.

I want to see MoS go it's own way with these characters.

I hope MoS lays the seeds for Brainiac instead, especially with the alien focus of the film.

 

[Kurosawa]

I liked Rosenbaum's Lex and I liked the angle they used in Birthright.

I'm not sure they'll use it in MOS, but I prefer a multisided Lex. Lex and Clark having a history works well I think.
Showing a young, naive, optimistic and likable Lex that gets "burned" heavily and "turns to the dark side" just creates the better drama and a more interesting foe/opposer/competitor IMO.

Agree 100%. Lex needs to have a shot a redemption, and the relationship is much richer if they were once friends and a big hope of Superman's is that they will be again.

 

[KalMart]

He'll be friends with Clark for like a week..........like Xavier and Magneto in XMen: First Contact.

 

[Sawyer]

He'll be friends with Clark for like a week..........like Xavier and Magneto in XMen: First Contact.

[YT]rX7wtNOkuHo[/YT]

 

[Rowsdower!]

He'll be friends with Clark for like a week..........like Xavier and Magneto in XMen: First Contact.

Is that the movie where the X-Men travel back in time to defeat the Borg? t:

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Agree 100%. Lex needs to have a shot a redemption, and the relationship is much richer if they were once friends and a big hope of Superman's is that they will be again.

While I do enjoy that element of the backstory, I kind of hope it's missing from the film.

Only because, it has been SO overdone IMO. It seems like every single villain has to be a friend/ally first and then 'turn to the dark side'.

I mean, just in the Superhero genre you've got: Norman Osbourne (Spiderman 1), Doctor Octavius (Spiderman 2), Harry Osbourne (Spiderman 3), Obadiah Stane (Iron Man), Magneto (X-Men, X-Men First Class), Loki (Thor), Henri Ducard (Batman Begins) Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight), Victor Von Doom (Fantastic Four), Hector Hammond (Green Lantern), Sinistro (Green Lantern (though granted, it's only in the last scene )

Etc, etc, etc!

IMO, Lex should be a villain with no history of friendship with Clark/Superman. Their rivalry should be purely based on the fact that each of them respresents everything the other detests.

The Joker in TDK is the only one that springs to mind that's managed to give us a villain that's JUST a villain. And isn't that proof enough that it works very well that way?

 

[Rockstar]

I loved Grant Morrison's version of Luthor in All Star Superman. If they have to use the character, I'd love to see something like that. The brilliant inventor and terrorist, seen as a threat because of his superhuman intelligence.

His relationship/rapport with Clark the Reporter was great too. It was an interest parallel to his rivalry with Superman.


I remember in 1986, they transformed Lex into a sleezy businessman who could screw you out of your money, like Trump, because the world viewed that kind of economic capitalism as a threat.

Today, I think terrorism and advancing technology are more relevant threats.


I want to see Luthor in an armored battlesuit going head to head with Superman.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I want to see Luthor in an armored battlesuit going head to head with Superman.

Personally, I don't.

1. I prefer it when his villainy is more behind the scenes, discreet. Where he is 'getting away with it'.

2. Combined with everything you've said, wouldn't it come across a bit too much like Obadiah in Iron Man? Corrupt businessman selling arms to terrorists in an armoured battlesuit?

 

[Herolee10]

Personally, I don't.

1. I prefer it when his villainy is more behind the scenes, discreet. Where he is 'getting away with it'.

2. Combined with everything you've said, wouldn't it come across a bit too much like Obadiah in Iron Man? Corrupt businessman selling arms to terrorists in an armoured battlesuit?

Agreed.

Personally, I want a version of Luther who actually thinks that he's doing humanity a favor by ridding the world of Superman.

I think some of the best villains out there are the kind that actually think that they're doing the right thing; that don't believe that they're "evil". (End justifies the means).

Luther could believe that he's so superior that it should be a human who leads humanity into a new age instead of Superman, and who better in his mind than he himself?lol

And frankly, I can't imagine anyone else other than Metallo, who could use kryptonite so effectively against Superman...heck, a cool way this time would be for him to make some kryptonite bullets and shoot Superman in the sequel.

Luther could represent the worst of humanity, like how Zod represents the worst of Kryptonians.

 

[Rockstar]

Personally, I don't.

1. I prefer it when his villainy is more behind the scenes, discreet. Where he is 'getting away with it'.

2. Combined with everything you've said, wouldn't it come across a bit too much like Obadiah in Iron Man? Corrupt businessman selling arms to terrorists in an armoured battlesuit?

He wouldn't be a corperate businessman. It's been done. It's stale.

More of a brilliant scientist/inventor like in All Star Superman. There could be some strong parallels between him and Jor-El on Krypton.

He wouldn't be selling his technology either, or interested in profit. It's more about surpassing Superman's knowledge and power. He wants to use his superior intellect to become greater than Superman.

We could likely get armored battle suits in Man of Steel. It would feel like a waste if we didn't get a Superman VS Luthor brawl if they decide to use the character in a future sequel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2a-qj2PSb0

 

[Rockstar]

Best choices for Luthor.

Ralph Fiennes

Viggo Mortensen

Jason Issacs

Paul Bettany

Damien Lewis

Michael C Hall

Josh Brolin

 

[Axl Van Sixx]

I remember in 1986, they transformed Lex into a sleezy businessman who could screw you out of your money, like Trump, because the world viewed that kind of economic capitalism as a threat.

Today, I think terrorism and advancing technology are more relevant threats.

Whoa, man. Were you here for the economic collapse in 2008 and the bank bailouts, when sleazy businessmen and their puppets in Congress funneled trillions in dollars of taxpayer money directly to the banksters?

Corporate CEOs like Lex are even more of a threat now than they were in the 80s. Let me just ask you - how many Americans will die due to terrorism next year, vs. how many Americans will die from poverty, or mental illness exacerbated by economic distress or post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in wars overseas waged on behalf of corporate interests?

Not to bring politics into it too much, but making Lex a corporate criminal was pure brilliance on the part of John Byrne, because given my own politics, that's the kind of villain that I most love to hate. It's a lot more satisfying to see Superman punish some corporate tycoon than a mad scientist.