Bryan Cranston Calls Out ‘Lazy’ Lex Luthor Casting Claims
Written by Luck Wilson on June 26, 2023
As Lex Luthor fancasts become more prominent, actor Bryan Cranston shared his own thoughts on what he feels to be “lazy casting” involving him in the role.
Following his rise to fame on Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston became a regular in fan casts for superhero movies, including villains like Spider-Man’s Green Goblin and Superman’s Lex Luthor.
Meanwhile, Luthor has been a hot topic of discussion ahead of his likely return in Superman: Legacy, with new DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn even commenting on how he’s had his issues with certain portrayals for Clark Kent’s iconic adversary.
Bryan Cranston Discusses Lex Luthor Fancasting
Speaking with MTV’s Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Bryan Cranston addressed fancastings online that hinted at him being good to play the role of Lex Luthor in a Superman movie.
Horowitz asked if it was “just the laziness of fan casting” that caused fans to use his mustache or bald head to fancast him as Luthor or Jim Gordon, asking if he ever had any conversations about playing those roles:
“Was it all just the laziness of fan casting that they either saw the great mustache or the bald head back in the Heisenberg days that you were always fancasted as Lex Luthor or Jim Gordon? Was there ever any real conversations about playing those live-action characters?”
Cranston recalled voicing Gordon in the 2011 animated Batman movie, Batman: Year One, but also confirmed the feeling that “lazy casting” is the reason he ends up as part of these fancasts so often:
“Not that I know of. I did Jim Gordon in the animated Batman thing. And that was fun. I think it was – I think you’re right, I think it was, like, lazy casting. There should be a, like, ‘lazycasting.com.’ And I was like ‘what is it?’ Because I had a bald head, they go ‘Ah! Lex Luthor!’ It’s like, come on. Let’s think about this a little bit.”
Will Bryan Cranston Join the New Superman Movie?
Considering that Bryan Cranston has only been part of fancasts for live-action rather than any actual discussions, the chances of him playing Lex Luthor or another comic-book-movie character are slim.
On top of that, with casting taking place for Superman: Legacy right now, DC Studios may look to go in a younger direction so that the character can be a part of the new DC Universe well past its Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate.
Rumors have already pointed to a few actors screen testing for Luthor as Legacy looks to begin its production sometime in early 2024.
And with Gunn and his team also hard at work finding the actors that will play the core heroes in this movie, with or without somebody like Cranston, it looks to give the franchise a fresh new start after a number of theatrical letdowns.
Superman: Legacy hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
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