The hotel bar at Red Sea smelled like cardamom and nervous money, that particular mix that hits when desert royalty and Hollywood collide. Nicholas Hoult sat there in a black shirt, sleeves rolled, looking like he’d just stepped off the Nosferatu set, and when Variety asked about Man of Tomorrow he gave the smallest, sharpest smile I’d seen all festival. “I can’t say too much about it, but it’s awesome.” Two seconds. One word. And every alarm bell in my comic-book brain went off at once. I confess, I actually leaned forward like an idiot— because Hoult doesn’t throw “awesome” around like confetti. The man spent 2025 playing monsters for directors who don’t miss. When he says a script is awesome, something in it probably bites.
The Red Sea Moment That Actually Mattered
He was there to talk The Order, Nosferatu, Juror #2— the unholy trinity that made 2025 his darkest year on screen. Then the interviewer slipped in the Superman sequel question and Hoult’s whole posture changed. Not excited. Not nervous. Satisfied. Like a chess player who just saw the board flip in his favour. “There’s some really fun stuff,” he added, and the way he said “fun” tasted like poison wrapped in velvet. Gunn’s been storyboarding since summer, department meetings, scouting, casting— the machine’s already rolling. Hoult knows exactly what’s coming and he’s enjoying keeping it from us.
Why This Lex Might Actually Scare Us
Here’s where I start fighting myself. Part of me remembers every time a sequel took a perfect villain and turned him into a Saturday-morning cartoon— Joker in Suicide Squad, anyone? The other part watched Hoult in Superman and felt actual dread when Lex smiled, because it wasn’t cartoon evil, it was the kind of contempt that makes you check your locks twice. Gunn doesn’t do safe sequels. He did Rocket Raccoon dirty in the best way. A, then Hoult’s Lex was already the smartest man in every room; B, “fun stuff” from Gunn usually means someone loses a limb or their soul; but also C, superhero movies love to neuter their villains in round two; and somehow D, that little smirk in the Variety lounge felt like the moment before the trap springs.
You know that feeling when an actor who’s fresh off playing actual monsters starts grinning about playing your favourite bald bastard again? It’s the same electricity I felt watching Hackman in the Donner cut, except Hoult’s version runs on liquid nitrogen instead of camp. The first film proved he could make Lex terrifying without a single explosion. Now Gunn’s got two years to figure out how to make him worse.
Festival gossip had it the script leans hard into psychological warfare— less Death Star plans, more making Superman question why anyone needs saving. Hoult’s whole 2025 was about disappearing into darkness. Letting that darkness leak into the brightly coloured DCU could be the tension the sequel needs. Or it could be another case of “we had him and we softened him.” Both possibilities are currently clawing at my ribcage.
Man of Tomorrow doesn’t land until 2027 but Hoult just handed us the first real jolt. I’m half-convinced this could be the sequel that makes the first film look like an origin story. Half-terrified they’ll waste the best Lex we’ve had since the animated series. Both feelings are winning right now. Does one word from Hoult actually move the needle for you, or are we all just starving for anything that isn’t another multiverse cameo? Fight me.
Man of Tomorrow Warning Signs
- Hoult’s Smirk Counter
He used the word “fun” like a loaded gun— that’s not hype, that’s a threat. - Gunn’s Silence
He’s storyboarding but saying nothing. When Gunn goes quiet, bodies usually follow. - 2025’s Monster Energy
Nosferatu‘s dread, The Order‘s cult rot— Hoult’s bringing receipts, not just the bald cap. - Lex as Psychological Nuke
Whispers say more mind games, less world-ending tech. Finally. - The “Awesome” Tax
When an actor this precise drops casual praise, something in that script probably hurts.
FAQ
Why does Nicholas Hoult saying Man of Tomorrow is “awesome” feel like a warning?
Because he spent 2025 playing actual monsters and never once looked this satisfied. When the guy who just survived Robert Eggers calls something “awesome,” it’s probably going to leave marks.
Has Hoult’s Lex changed what we expect from Superman sequels?
He made intelligence terrifying again. If Gunn lets that version loose for round two instead of sanding him down for PG-13, we might actually get a villain who wins without lifting a finger.
What does Hoult’s tease mean for James Gunn’s DCU villain problem?
Gunn fixed Marvel’s villain curse with Ego and High Evolutionary. If he lets Hoult cook, Lex could be the one that makes every other DCU baddie look like a warm-up act.
Why did “fun stuff” from Hoult hit harder than normal sequel hype?
Because normal sequel hype is “bigger explosions.” Hoult saying “fun” after playing a vampire and a cult leader feels like someone sharpening a knife while smiling.
