Lex Luthor actor Nicholas Hoult says it wasn't "about trying to do something different" with his iconic Superman villain: "It's nice that they've got such legacy"

Superman may be the embodiment of hope and justice, but if there's one guy that has an issue with that, it's Lex Luthor.

Luthor stands next to comic book figures like the Joker and Doctor Doom when it comes to infamous bad guys, and now, in this summer's Superman, Nicholas Hoult is stepping up as the Man of Steel's iconic arch nemesis.

As Hoult tells GamesRadar+ when we meet with him in London, his character's rich history was a great help in crafting his own version of the bald baddie.

"It's nice that they've got such legacy," he shares of the Superman characters. "One of the things that I got sent as a gift after I got cast was a book that's a celebration of the 75 years of Lex in comics. Every comic that he's appeared in, basically, summed up through the years, and that was a wonderful place to start in terms of learning about him.

"But then it wasn't for me about trying to do something different with the character," he adds. "It was about looking at James [Gunn]'s script that was a wonderful blueprint and what he wanted from the character, and then going back and learning and researching as much as I could in varied ways to then be like, 'Okay, what can I add on top of that that's helpful for this story and this version of the character?' without trying to be different."

Along with Hoult, Superman, the first movie of DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, stars David Corenswet as Big Blue himself, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. James Gunn directs.

Superman arrives in theaters this July 11. In the meantime, check out our guides to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows and how to watch the DC movies in order for even more.