It’s a pretty cool story as James Gunn comments on what he wants from his Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy. As you can see below, Gunn recently appeared on Michael Rosenbaum’s YouTube show, and he knows a thing or two about Lex Luthor. Ergo, although the couple had a great conversation about a lot of things, it was this conversation that caught my attention the most. I think it also caused a few angry voices online that Gunn had to respond to.
Oh, here’s the Inside of You podcast with my old friend @michaelrosenbum (yes I think he was the best Lex Luthor) on YouTube. https://t.co/YCoWkrf6eZ
—James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 14, 2023
Superman: Legacy is a reboot of the DCEU in the DCU. New cast, new story, and that means a new Lex Luthor. Rosenbaum played Lex in the Smallville series, and in my mind is the archetype of what I’m looking for in Lex (live-action). I haven’t been a fan of any other live rendition of Luthor besides Rosenbaum and it seems Gunn agrees.
Rosenbaum makes Gunn promise that his Lex Luthor won’t be clumsy or crazy, and that he’ll have gravity. Check it out.
Michael Rosenbaum Makes James Gunn Promise DCU Lex Won’t Be Like BvS Lex Luthor lmao pic.twitter.com/gvwkMrH0bP
— Dylan (@The_RCBG) June 13, 2023
I mean, it looks like Rosenbaum is particularly critical of Eisenberg’s Lex with that “Crazy!” double. However, he’s absolutely right to do it, it was one of the worst takes on Lex I’ve ever seen. I like Eisenberg, I didn’t like him as Lex Luthor. Likewise, I was not a fan of Gene Hackman or Spacey.
As you can see in the comments below, Gunn wasn’t a fan of Hackman Lex Luthor either. This is no affront to Hackman, as Gunn says, and I agree with him 100%. Hackman is a great actor and he even had some great acting moments early on. Superman movies. However, the character he was asked to play wasn’t the version of Lex that was so popular in the comics, not for me anyway.
Reading these answers, it sometimes seems like people are looking for things to get outraged at and have little sense of history. While Donner’s Superman movies are some of my favorites, I’ve spoken about them publicly before and even written about them in EW early on…
—James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 14, 2023
“Reading these responses, it sometimes seems like people are looking for things to get outraged at and have little sense of history. Although Donner’s Superman movies are some of my favorites, I’ve spoken about them publicly before and I even wrote in EW in the early 2000s, perhaps recklessly, that Lex Luthor isn’t my favorite part of those movies The portrayal can lean campy and I wish he’d come across as a bigger threat and I wish he had played it bald all the way I’m sorry I implied that I didn’t like ANY Lex on Michael’s show but that’s the way it is For the record I think that Hackman is one of the five greatest actors of the 70s and 80s, and he starred in some of my favorite movies, I just didn’t like him as Lex.
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Twitter is going to tweet and you know what this platform looks like for outraged keyboard warriors. Therefore, of course, there are people shocked that Gunn killed their pup. However, in reality, he’s just a dude who has an opinion about movies from his childhood, just like the rest of us. The only news here is that we can get an idea of what kind of Lex Luthor wants Superman: Legacy. Now we know what it is not looking for.
I’m just throwing this out James, but there’s an actor you’ve worked with before. To me, he’s now the perfect age to play Lex Luthor, and he was sitting across from you. Imagine Rosenbaum getting to do his Lex with a much better script than he’s ever had to. Smallville? I would be up for that without a shadow of a doubt. This clearly won’t happen or the pair wouldn’t be as open as they were about what Gunn likes and dislikes with Lex. Still, if you’re short on Gunn candidates, could you always pick up a friend’s phone?
What do you think as James Gunn comments on what he wants from his Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy? Thoughts below, as always.