Nicholas Hoult Explains Why His Lex Luthor Really Hates Superman

Nicholas Hoult knows exactly why Lex Luthor can’t stand Superman — and he’s not shy about unpacking it. The Superman star has been peeling back layers of Lex ahead of the new DCU reboot hitting theaters this July, and if you thought Lex’s hatred was just about power and money, Hoult wants you to look deeper.

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Speaking on the DC Studios Showcase podcast, Hoult laid it out plain: Lex thinks he’s earned the love and worship that Superman gets handed the minute he flies in. In Hoult’s words, “He believes he deserves this adoration and respect and love from humanity.” So when Clark Kent shows up and soaks in all the glory without having to build it brick by brick? It burns.

Hoult calls Lex “driven by love.” Not exactly the word you expect to hear with a guy who’s been Superman’s arch-nemesis for 85 years. But that twist makes it more interesting. Lex wants love — maybe more than power. And the more people love Superman, the more invisible Lex feels.

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This take lines up with Lex’s greatest hits. He’s always been the smartest guy in the room who can’t stand that an alien with perfect hair gets the key to the city every week. But Hoult’s spin leans into the insecurity behind all that ego.

He explained it another way earlier this year — asking what happens when someone with unlimited power doesn’t line up with what the rest of us think is right. Lex sees Superman as a threat, not just a rival. And the envy and fear get tangled up in one big obsession. It’s what keeps Lex from being just a mustache-twirling villain. There’s logic there. It’s just twisted.

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Hoult even got a nod of approval from Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum — still one of the best Lexes ever. Rosenbaum called him up and gave him a bit of advice: lean into the humanity and contradictions. Looks like Hoult listened.

This version of Superman is all about relationships — the clash between Clark’s hope and Lex’s hunger for control, Lois Lane caught in the middle, Metropolis watching like an arena crowd. Hoult’s Lex wants people to adore him. And he’ll tear Superman down to prove he’s the hero people should love.

So when Hoult says Lex is “driven by love,” what he really means is that Lex wants to be the center of everyone’s world — and Superman’s cape keeps blocking his spotlight. Come July, we’ll get to see just how far Lex is willing to go to take it back.

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