Bryan Cranston has always been a popular name in the world of DC Comics fancasts, with people wanting him to play everyone from Jim Gordon to Lex Luthor. However, the Breaking Bad star calls those fancasts “lazy” due to them only focusing on his baldness.
With casting for Superman: Legacy in full swing, fans have once more began calling for Bryan Cranston to take up the mantle of Lex Luthor in the DC Universe. While his time portraying Walter White on Breaking Bad proves that Cranston is a good fit for playing bald men ready to do whatever it takes for the people he loves, it seems as though the actor isn’t a fan of the casting. Speaking to Josh Horowitz, he remarked that he wished fans would think a bit more about their ideas beyond the baldness of an actor’s head.
“I did Jim Gordon in the animated Batman thing,” Cranston spoke on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And that was fun. I think it was – I think you’re right, I think it was, like, lazy casting. There should be a, like, ‘lazycasting.com.’ And I was like, ‘What is it?’ Because I had a bald head, they go ‘Ah! Lex Luthor!’ It’s like, come on. Let’s think about this a little bit.”
It seems as though James Gunn agrees with Bryan Cranston’s sentiment of a bald head being poor criteria to play Lex Luthor given X-Men: First Class star Nicholas Hoult is reportedly in the running for the role in Superman: Legacy. While it’s not likely fans will ever see the Breaking Bad star take up the role of Lex Luthor, it will surely remain one of the most popular fancasts for years to come. For better or, in Cranston’s opinion, for worse.
Superman’s DC Universe Future
Superman: Legacy is a much-anticipated project, given that Clark Kent has been an integral part of the DC Universe for over 80 years, with various iterations and adaptations across different media. The movie promises to explore the character’s origins and his struggles to balance his dual identities as Clark and Superman while fighting off villains and saving the world. The choice to focus on the early years of his career is a bold move that could potentially breathe new life into the character and appeal to a younger generation of fans.
James Gunn and Peter Safran told journalists that their vision for the DC Universe includes locked scripts, wiggle room and a unified storyline across film, television, animation and video game projects. The two explained that the DC Universe could bring back elements from previous DC regimes, meaning that their eight-to-year plan is not a full reboot.
