The road to Superman: Legacy is starting to look a bit clearer.
We know James Gunn has had a specific vision for his Superman reboot, and it’s also common knowledge that the studio hand selected David Corenswet to don the red cape next.
He’ll find his place in our Superman actor rankings soon enough, but who will be the Superman: Legacy villain?
It’s a fair question, seeing as Lex Luthor dominated the screen in previous Superman movies. We’ve also seen Doomsday battle Kal-El, while General Zod was the main antagonist in Man of Steel.
So, who will be the big bad in Superman: Legacy? Here’s 5 interesting options and who could play them.
Lex Luthor
No sense in ruling out the timeless classic villain of Superman movies.
While the decision-makers may try to get a bit more creative when casting the Superman: Legacy villain, kicking things off with Luthor does make good sense.
Corenswet is only 30 and we’re restarting the Superman franchise, so it makes sense to tell this thing from the beginning. And as we all know, Luthor is attached to Superman as much as any DC villain.
In fact, a teaser tweet revealed a re-telling of the Superman tale through new comics, and the first series (Superman: Birthright) introduces Luthor as a big bad pretty early on.
Does that mean Luthor is the main villain in Superman: Legacy? No, but he could certainly make an appearance at the very least, and it remains very possibly he’s the big bad.
It wouldn’t be a shocking development or blow anyone away, but it’d be perfectly fitting and shouldn’t exactly disappoint us.
As for who would play Lex Luthor, why not go with someone originally in the running to play the title role; Nicholas Hoult?
Hoult has been in conversations to be the protagonist for both Batman and Superman franchises, but he’s got the looks, charm, and acting chops to play the other side.
Of course, there are a lot of actors that could play Lex Luthor pretty well. Hoult just tops the list for me for now.
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Brainiac
Lex Luthor isn’t the only Superman villain featured in the new comics. In fact, there’s an entire series devoted to the intelligent mad man.
Well, more like crazy android. But you get the idea.
Superman’s affiliation with Brainiac dates back to 1958, and the history between these two is rich, as Brainiac is responsible – to some degree – for Krypton’s destruction.
With an eye on doing something similar to Earth, it’s easy to see why Superman may be interested in taking this dude down.
That’s easier said than done, of course, as Brainiac’s insane brain power and vast knowledge gives him almost limitless capabilities and makes him quite the worthy adversary for Clark Kent.
Facing off with a more intellectually challenging foe in the early stages of his crime-fighting career would make for a fun Superman reboot film, although I do question where we’d go from here.
If you’re wondering who would play Brainiac, my pick is Mads Mikkelsen. Whoever plays Brainiac has to come off as rather intelligent, but they also have to be convincing in action sequences.
I think Mikkelsen is still young enough to accomplish that, and nobody will think twice about his ability to be ruthless or outwit his opponent.
Darkseid
Are we going to actually get Darkseid feature in a Superman movie one day? Maybe, maybe not.
All I know is he got teased in the Justice League and now I can’t stop thinking about actors that could play Darkseid.
This is one of the few Superman villains that would appease the masses in the event Brainiac simply ends up being a red herring.
After all, it’s always possible Brainiac is just a piece to the puzzle and all roads actually lead to a bigger bad like Darkseid.
I do still think Brainiac looks like the more likely Superman: Legacy villain, but guys like Jason Clarke or Javier Bardem could crush this role.
Lobo
Maybe we’re dreaming too big here. Let’s consider that Superman: Legacy is a total do-over and that the franchise is again starting from scratch with a new actor.
Nothing to this point tells us where in his superhero career Clark Kent is, but it’s likely near the beginning due to David Corenswet’s age and the fact that we haven’t met him on screen yet.
If the new Superman movie plays into that, we could get tiny doses of the villains mentioned above, and have a different central villain slow play us into a bigger storyline in the likely sequel.
Enter Lobo, who is an alien mercenary that would basically operate as the opposite of Superman. With Jason Momoa possibly attached, fans are understandably getting excited.
Lobo’s arrival would obviously be bad news for the people of Earth, and Superman probably wouldn’t take too kindly to him messing with his new planet.
Perhaps he’s sent to Earth literally to kill Superman? And then whoever sent him (perhaps Brainiac?) leaks into a second movie.
Jason Momoa appears to be the favorite to play Lobo if he’s in fact included in Superman: Legacy, but it’s always possible he gets the gig in a stand alone film of his own, too.
Conduit
There are a lot of potential Superman: Legacy villains to consider. The Authority is expected to play a role in the film, and you could argue for Doomsday and so many others.
I’m going to cap my list of possible Superman villains with one I personally would love to see; Conduit.
I know his time in the comics was short-lived, but I loved this story, where a childhood friend/rival grows bitter over time, and ultimately decides to destroy Clark Kent’s life.
Always coming second to Kent growing up, Kenny Braverman’s story is a pretty relatable one and it’d be a fitting start to David Corenswet’s journey.
Not only is Clark Kent slowly finding out how to journey through the world as a superhero with his powers, but he’s first forced to fend off someone close to home.
His battle with Conduit could set us up for a bigger battle with Lex Luthor in the sequel, and future movies could allow the universe to expanded into madness with some of the aforementioned Superman bad guys.
As for who could play Conduit, the options are endless. He’s masked most of the time, but ideally someone who can hold their own in action scenes and also play a bitter and yet somewhat redeemable character well.
Will Poulter is one option that stands out right away, as we’ve now seen him get into the comic book movie genre, and he’s bulked up in recent years, as well.
Who Will be the Villain in Superman: Legacy?
At this point, all signs suggest The Authority will play a role, and I’d also expect to see at least a small dose of Lex Luthor.
Beyond that, the teaser of Brainiac may be too specific and too compelling to deny fans of now.
If I were making the movie, I’d start things out slower so we can get introduced to Clark Kent’s story and slowly see him take over as Superman.
One great way to do that is to use a smaller villain like Conduit, while mixing in a mercenary like Lobo could be a fun second storyline.
All of this can still lead us to Lex Luthor’s doorstep, and future movies could showcase Brainiac and other huge Superman villains.
That said, it does feel like Brainiac is going to be the Superman: Legacy villain.
While that isn’t how I’d kick off a Superman reboot, it’s an awesome character and I’ll have zero qualms about it if that’s the direction James Gunn goes.
Do you agree Brainiac is the likely villain in Superman: Legacy? Want to see one of the other villains I mentioned, or have an idea of your own? Tell me in the comments below!
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