What about the legendary Lex Luthor instead of Wolverine? It’s only a matter of time before Wolverine finally makes his official Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, not counting Hugh Jackman’s return as the character in next year’s Deadpool 3. Many fans have already been fan-casting the role, and one name that’s been thrown around is Kingsman star Taron Egerton. However, Egerton’s own longtime collaborator, and former X-Men: First Class director, Matthew Vaughn, has another comic book role in mind for Egerton: that of the original supervillain Lex Luthor!
Speaking to the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, the filmmaker spoke about casting Egerton in the role of Wolverine. Rather than the beloved X-Men member, Vaughn suggested that Egerton would be better served playing the iconic Superman villain of Lex Luthor instead.
MATTHEW VAUGHN THINKS TARON EGERTON SHOULD PORTRAY LEX LUTHOR AND NOT WOLVERINE
Sharing his honest opinion on the subject, the director shared his own two fan-casting cents for Egerton, noting that he’d be a better fit for Luthor instead of Wolverine. He stated the following:
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“I think he’d be better as Lex Luthor. I think he’d be an amazing Luthor. He shouldn’t be Wolverine, I don’t think. I don’t think he’s right for it. I think you’ve got to more … really go back to … Hugh [Jackman]’s brilliant as Wolverine, but I would go back to what the comic is — go really small, grizzly, tough guy. That’s what I would do. I don’t know who it is but I think Hugh’s made it so iconic that if you go into that — whoever’s trying to do the Hugh version is buggered … I think he [Egerton] would make an amazing, intelligent villain with depth.”
– Matthew Vaughn, Happy Sad Confused Podcast, h/t ComingSoon.net
Vaughn would be a fairly good authority on the matter. He’s very well experienced working on and directing comic book movies, having directed Kick-Ass and First Class, which also featured a cameo appearance by Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine once again.
Not to mention, Vaughn has worked with Egerton on many films. He directed Egerton in his breakout role as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin in Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. He’s also produced and shepherded other films starring Egerton, including Rocketman, Eddie the Eagle, and Tetris.
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Currently, it’s unknown what capacity Lex Luthor will appear in, if any, for the upcoming live-action Superman reboot for DC Studios, Superman: Legacy. Writer, director, and DC Studios co-Chairman James Gunn did deny a casting rumor earlier in July that James Bond star Daniel Craig had been offered the role of Lex Luthor in a post on Threads. That seems to imply that Luthor might portray a role in the film.
Superman: Legacy is currently slated for a 2025 release with David Corenswet attached to star as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. DC Studios won’t be able to announce any new castings for the film until the currently ongoing strike by the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has been resolved.
The character of Lex Luthor has seen many actors and iterations over the years. On the big screen, he’s been portrayed by Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenberg. Clancy Brown voiced Luthor in multiple animated projects over the years, including Superman: The Animated Series and various DTV animated features. Jon Cryer also portrayed the character in the live-action Supergirl TV series. Luthor would be a highly coveted and pivotal role for any top actor looking to play a villain.
The strike began in July, and negotiations are expected to resume on Tuesday (Oct. 24). However, fans shouldn’t expect any news on who might portray Lex Luthor until the strike is resolved. Meanwhile, as far as the X-Men and Marvel’s Merry Band of Mutants are concerned, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige have been very tight-lipped about their plans. We know Deadpool 3 will feature Ryan Reynolds back as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, plus Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine/Logan from the FOX X-Men movie universe. However, how all that is going to work remains to be seen.
For now, we know that Superman: Legacy is still currently slated to arrive on July 11, 2025. Deadpool 3 was recently forced to shift off its May 3, 2024 release date due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, as the film is still not finished with production. It will likely hit theaters later next year, but the strike still needs to be resolved before Marvel Studios can figure out a new released date.
But what do you think of Matthew Vaughn’s comments? Do you think Taron Egerton would be a good fit for Lex Luthor? Or do you like Egerton as the new MCU Wolverine more? Let us know your thoughts about the casting ideas on The Illuminerdi’s social media.
SOURCE: Happy Sad Confused, ComingSoon.net
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