Dave Bautista shuts down Lex Luthor rumors for James Gunn’s DCU

Dave Bautista has ruled himself out of contention for the role of Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s upcoming DCU film Superman: Legacy. The actor, who recently worked with Gunn for his just-released Marvel entry Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, took to Instagram to shut down rumours that he was in talks with the director to portray the film’s primary villain. 

“Nope! No conversation,” Bautista commented on a post suggesting he had discussed the role with Gunn (per ComicBook.com). “No hurting people.” 

Bautista’s comments seem to refute earlier reports that he was all-but confirmed for the Luther role, following Deadline reporter Justin Kroll’s Tweet that a Guardians of the Galaxy star was in contention for the part. While the actor’s confirmation trims down the list of frontrunners for one of DC’s most diabolical villains, previous reports have suggested that The Great star Nicholas Hoult is in contention to portray Luther. 

Gunn himself shed some light on the casting process of Superman: Legacy, sharing a tweet amid speculation that Hollywood star David Corenswet had signed on as Clark Kent. “For all of you asking, I would never comment on who is or isn’t AUDITIONING for a role,” Gunn wrote on Twitter. “That’s the actor’s business only & isn’t something I’d make public unless they did it first.” 

Gunn went on to reference actors Glenn Howerton and Zachary Levi, who had previously spoken about auditioning for Star-Lord, the lead role in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. “For now, only one person has been CAST in Superman: Legacy, and it isn’t any of the regular players in the Superman world,” Gunn concluded. The director’s insistence that minimal casting has taken place has done little to calm the speculation around Legacy, with The Hollywood Reporter publishing a long list of potential candidates for major roles. 

Alongside Hoult and Corenswet, The Hollywood Reporter named Euphoria star Jacob Elordi and British actors Tom Brittney and Andrew Richardson as Clark Kent contenders, with Emma Mackey of Sex Education and Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor in talks for Lois Lane. In terms of fan-casting, Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum has been suggested for the role of Luthor, with Noah Jupe, Nathon Fillion and Sheryl Lee Ralph proposed for Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and Martha Kent, respectively. 

“My pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman,” Corenswet recently said amid rumours of his Legacy casting. “I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman]. I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take, but I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic.”