Is Lex Luthor the true hero of the DC Universe? James Gunn celebrates the iconic villain with a tease his mentality may shift heading into Man of Tomorrow.
One of the most exciting aspects about Man of Tomorrow for longtime DC Universe fans is that audiences will finally be able to see Lex Luthor and Superman work together on the silver screen. While the two have commonly worked together against a greater foe in the comics and animated shows, James Gunn’s sequel will be the first project to bring that dynamic into live-action.
And with the fictional birthday of Lex Luthor recently passing by, James Gunn put out a post celebrating the smartest man in the DC Universe. In the post, the director teased that the character will be putting his values to the test in Man of Tomorrow by working alongside Superman, though keeps things vague as to whether or not he truly is a villain.
“Happy Birthday to the ambitious and unstoppable CEO and scientist Lex Luthor, who most definitely is NOT a villain, but instead of protector of earth and humanity (he swears on a stack of Bibles). We’ll see how he does working with arch-nemesis Superman in MAN OF TOMORROW, in theaters summer of 27.”
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Lex Luthor’s Role In Man Of Tomorrow
It’s clear from everything James Gunn has said up to this point that Lex Luthor will be the deuteragonist, if not the protagonist, of Man of Tomorrow. It’s certainly an interesting change of pace given Superman focused so much on the villain’s one-track mind when it came to hating the Man of Steel. Though it also implies that a truly dangerous threat is on its way to the DC Universe.
Lex Luthor also seems set to get his own suit in Man of Tomorrow, with his war suit being used in most promotional art for the DC Universe’s first proper sequel. It’s likely that James Gunn is changing the suit’s origin to be a raptor suit powered by Kryptonite, especially as the New Gods have yet to be teased in the franchise and the movie’s true villain is confirmed to be Brainiac.
Man of Tomorrow flies into theaters July 9th, 2027. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the DC Universe!
