Nathan Fillion Teases MAN OF TOMORROW Will Dig Deeper Into Lex Luthor
Superman may have his name on the marquee and Brainiac may be bringing the big threat, but Man of Tomorrow could belong to Lex Luthor.
Nathan Fillion, who returns as Guy Gardner in James Gunn’s upcoming DC Universe sequel, has offered an interesting tease about the movie, revealing that it will spend more time digging into Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor and showing audiences who he really is.
Fillion was asked whether Man of Tomorrow would have a similar tone to Superman, and his answer pointed toward a change in character focus.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “In the first movie, and rightly so, we learn a lot about who Superman is. In this movie, I think we’ll learn more about who Lex Luthor is, and I think it’s equally important.”
That makes Luthor one of the more interesting pieces of Gunn’s next DC story. The first film established David Corenswet’s Superman and his place in this new universe. Man of Tomorrow now has an opportunity to give Hoult’s Luthor more room to develop beyond his hatred of Superman.
That’s interesting considering Lars Eidinger’s Brainiac is coming into the picture as the central threat. Superman and Luthor will be forced together against the superintelligent android, creating a fun dynamic between two characters who would normally rather be anywhere but on the same side.
Fillion also sounds happy to be back as Guy Gardner after making his DCU debut in Superman. “It felt great going back. The first experience was fantastic, so it felt really cool picking up where we left off,” he said.
The return also gave Fillion a chance to reunite with castmates he became close with while making the first movie.
Fillion has worked with Gunn for years, with their relationship stretching back to an audition in 2005 and roughly a dozen projects together. Gunn’s career and the size of his productions have changed considerably since then, but Fillion says the filmmaker himself hasn’t.
“Yes, he’s absolutely the same guy. The only thing that has changed is the scope of his projects and the sheer number of people on his teams,” Fillion said, noting that “the caliber of the work” has evolved while Gunn’s enthusiasm for storytelling has stayed constant.
Gunn wrote and directed Man of Tomorrow, which will be the fourth film in the DC Universe’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. With Superman and Lex Luthor forming an unlikely alliance against Brainiac, there’s already plenty of superhero chaos to play with.
Giving Luthor a larger emotional and character-driven role could make that conflict much more interesting. Hoult’s version of the villain has already established exactly how much Superman gets under his skin, and now Gunn has the chance to explore what’s actually driving the guy.
Man of Tomorrow hits theaters July 9, 2027.