Superman's foil comes in Hoult's Lex Luthor, a man proudly consumed by envy, who, as Lois deduces, wants to be king (who said comic book allegory needed to be subtle?). Hoult joins Brosnahan and Corenswet in ceding character beats and development to a chaotic, teeming plot.

Nicholas Hoult co-stars as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who twists public opinion to turn the world against the superhero, while pitting him against metahuman adversaries.