Lex Luthor not the Villain in Man of Steel Reboot

Superman has seen a good run of films and though they made some bold efforts to really give us a new chapter after years of fighting in the background over film rights and scripts, Superman Returns was met with mixed results. Despite its flaws I enjoyed it. But they painted themselves into a corner with the unique storyline, and now they are scrapping the movie continuity and moving on with a reboot ignoring all of the previous movies. Maybe this is what they should have done with Superman Returns. Live and Learn.

So in the new film are we going to see Lex Luthor as the villain again? Apparently not.

Filmjunk says:

Kevin Spacey, of course, insists that he will indeed be back for the sequel (and also that it will be called Superman: The Man of Steel, apparently), but word on the street is that he will be forced to take a back seat to another opponent.

According to Latino Review, the WB is currently taking pitches from writers, and they are specifically looking for another one of Superman’s enemies to take center stage. There is no word yet on who that might be, but I definitely think this is a good news.

So is Spacey just being optimistic that he might return? I know they are rebooting the series but despite the flaws of Superman Returns, Spacey and Routh were the best parts of it. If they are going to potentially bring back Routh in the reboot, why not Spacey?

But even if they do, it looks like Luthor would just have a presence and not be the main villain. I think this too is a wonderful idea. Nothing against Luthor – he is clearly Supes longest standing enemy – but its time for some new blood.

Fanwank wants to have such characters as Lobo or Doomsday. Both are formidable opponents for Big Blue, but I don’t think that will happen. Lobo has no depth to him. Just a mouthy stereotypical biker who happens to be superstrong and rides a space motorcycle. Just a waste. Doomsday would be a great fight too, but honestly he was just the harbinger to the Rise of the 4 Supermen storyline and Supes eventual return.

Zod on the other hand would be a fantastic villain to re-imagine. He has depth and a history with Kal-El’s family.

Bottom line is that the new villain is certain to be someone who can hand out a can of unadulterated whoopass. The fans have spoken and want to see Superman in a fight. A real fight. So they will likely come up with something from the rogues gallery that lets Superman not have to hold back.

I vote Darkseid. This short clip has Superman exposing one of his greatest fears. Holding back.

Comment with Facebook

32 thoughts on “Lex Luthor not the Villain in Man of Steel Reboot

  1. PLease for the love of god do not have lex luthor and if he is in it be it minor, Darkseid would be such a GREAT villain and should have already been in one the supermans by now along with other great super powerful villains. istead of boring human luthor.

    Vote 1 for Darkseid!
    Vote 1 for Darkseid!
    Vote 1 for Darkseid!
    Vote 1 for Darkseid!
    Vote 1 for Darkseid!
    or brainiac

  2. @AB Superman Returns was a daring plot, and though I thought a lot of it was really good, there were a few plot elements that backed them into a corner that they couldn’t get out of easily.

    There simply was too much baggage to effectively move on without referencing all of its past in my opinion.

    Also, we don’t have to tell an origin story again. People seem to assume that a new Superman film will just be another origin story. Much like the reboot of the Hulk, they could easily recap Superman’s origins during the credits. Maybe a short scene or two about his rise to popularity in Metropolis and then move on.

  3. i have no idea why they decided to make a reboot of superman. i mean come on, are people running out of ideas that the safe way to make a comic book movie is to make a reboot of its orgin. dont get me wrong batman begin was a excelent art done. i dont know about this one.since everybody is giving there two cents im going to say doomsday. :)

  4. so here is my 2 thoughts on the matter….dont make a reboot……make a sequal…..spacey will play some small part to introduce probly one of the best enemies supes has ever had….braniac…..zod has been done and they made him kinda lame….sure i like it cause u saw it when u where a kid but lets be honest….zod looked like a reject hippy that became a yuppie via 1981….and fucking loved abba……braniac i like….also if i could have it my way…i would have darksied…..only reason is that maybe if it looked bad ass marvel would try to bring in apocalypse(my favorite baddy in all series) lobo is just how u called it….plus its not like lobo has a big history…….its shotyy at best and it seemed his revamp was a attempt to battle image comics in its haydays.

  5. Castle:
    I cracked up (and I was anticipating his wiseass response to Lois) when Spacey bellowed WRONG. It was great comic pacing, and perfectly executed by Spacey. I’d love it if they used Kevin Smith’s script as stated earlier in this and past responses to the update. He knew what he was writing, even down to L-Ron. We shall see…..

  6. Castleknight, I laughed at that line. Definitely funny but maybe not on purpose.

    I agree that Lex as a main villain has been over done, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Spacey in the background. I think Brainiac would be great as the next villain, and I think they should keep Routh and let him develop his role.

  7. Have to agree with what most people are saying here. Spacey was a decent fit in the role but the character has been done so many times that it at times dragged the film down. Would like to see them try a new and fresh villian for the next film. Quick question: did anyone else start laughing when Luthor shouted “WRONG!” in Superman Returns. For me it was so unintentionally funny.

  8. All I can say is Thank God that Lex isn’t back. He’s appeared in 4/5 of the Supermanj films and has become tired. I would like to see Brainiac as the villain for the rebooted film and completely scrap any of the actors connected with Superman Returns (Routh and Spacey included).

  9. They really shouldn’t reboot this series, unless it’s gonna be a reboot in the Hulk vein, where they just completely ignore the previous films. As other have said, do we really need to see Superman’s origins AGAIN? Everyone knows it already.

    I defo want Routh back tho… I think he could really grow into the role and make it his own.

  10. Brainiac should be the first villain, ive been waiting to see him live for so long. Also hes perfect for a reboot since he was made on krypton as well. They can bring back the origin from the kevin smith script with him being the ultimate computer that controls almost everything. With it realizing the coming destruction of krypton he uses the opportunity to escape, and from there to accumulate all knowledge in the universe. forget the rest, but just the brainiac origin.

  11. My vote is for Brainiac for this first movie. Darkseid should be saved for the last film because for me, no one can top him as far as threat level for Superman.

  12. I like an earlier idea fromlast year with the previous installments as a Mxysptlk spell on Supes and he awakens to all hell breaking loose on metropolis with teh real villain being…. Darkseid woukld be a great fit or Brainiac….glad to finally hear some “New Year” update on things Kryptonian!

  13. So it’s a reboot, but with all the same cast?

    In that case, couldn’t it b viewed as just a prequel to Returns, that makes it separate from the other movies?

  14. One problem with making a movie about his origin and fighting Lex is that we’ve seen it many times already. When do we get to see Superman doing some major ass kicking? I want something totally different. They need to find a way to make him new again.

  15. I have to agree with her majesty on this one. I’ve just had an epiphany that I am in no way excited about Lex coming back in the next one. The only way it can work (and even then i’m not excited) is if they give us the all powerful, runs all of Metropolis, businessman Lex, which we’ve never had in the films before.

    Just do Brainiac for flips sake. I’ve been wanting to see Brainiac since Superman III but they gave us Richard Pryor instead.

  16. I actually liked Spacey in Singerman Returns, but the character is just SO tired. In every single incarnation of Supes that I’ve seen (all the Supes movies and Smallville), Lex is the primary antagonist. I’m sick of seeing him, and I don’t get why he is the only villain I’ve really been exposed to. I don’t read the comics, so I’m not very familiar with Supes’ rogues gallery save for Doomsday and Lex, but I want to see someone else take on Supes, preferably someone who can punch Supes without shattering his hand.

  17. I think Darkseid is more of a JLU villain than a superman villain.

    i would like to see them reboot the series, start with the origin again, and have the villain be Braniac, like it should have been from the start. Then we need a Mr. Mxyzptlk sequel and end the trilogy with the President Luthor story line. And we need to keep the Lois and Clark Kent bits to a minimum this time.

  18. I’m with Grave. Killer robots are big in movies right now, and Metallo is ideally the best villain to use.

    I don’t really agree with getting rid of Lex completely. If it’s for storyline purposes, it’s okay – but if it’s because “Returns” underperformed, that’s a terrible reason to give up on a character. He’d work great as a minor villain, and his character is one of the best developed in the Superman mythos.

  19. Never followed the cartoon, but that clip was pretty cool. I love the line about feeling like he lives in a world of cardboard. Heck, they should throw that dialogue into the new movie.

  20. “ignoring all of the previous movies. Maybe this is what they should have done with Superman Returns”

    The way I see it Superman Returns was a great way to close Donner’s first two acts. Even if Singers’ Superman only had one movie, what’s wrong with that. Not every movie has to be made a franchise. Example… Pirates of the Caribbean should have stopped at one.

    It would be fun to see Routh take on the role again, it seems like it would be hard to sell it as a reboot if Routh were in it though.

Leave a Reply