‘Man Of Steel’ Includes Superman Nemesis After All [Report]

A new report regarding Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel should be taken with piles of salt grains, and maybe even a little yawn. The latest spoiler suggests that Superman’s longtime nemesis Lex Luthor will appear in the film after all in some capacity.

We already know that Michael Shannon is playing General Zod, the main antagonist in the Christopher Nolan-backed Superman reboot set to be released in theaters this summer. But a report from Ain’t It Cool News alleges that Luthor will also be in the film, even if he’s only lurking in the shadows as a “presence.”

Neither Snyder nor Nolan have confirmed or denied speculation that Luthor would be included in some capacity in Man of Steel, but screenwriter David Goyer did cryptically say “I don’t think anyone has ever confirmed that we haven’t included him,” in a recent interview.

The report has Luthor present in the same capacity as Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man. Osborn’s company Oscorp played backdrop to several crucial scenes in the film (including the climax), Osborn was hinted at in dialogue, and a random ad board kind of showed his face early on. Chris Cooper has been cast in the role for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which will expand the character.

So the rumor is that Luthor will be handled in much the same way. If Man of Steel proves successful and sequels are made, Luthor will take center stage as the overall story progresses, but for the purposes of the first film, you’ll see LexCorp signs and such, and a possible cameo appearance by the character.

That’s the other half of the rumor – Actor Mackenzie Gray was reportedly cast and will appear as Lex Luthor in a cameo. He’s not on the film’s official IMDb page, but I remember back when Tom Hardy was on The Dark Knight Rises page as Det. Harvey Bullock, so you can’t always trust it.

Man of Steel hits theaters on June 14, 2013. What do you think? Should the Nolan/Snyder reboot series include Lex Luthor?

Here’s Gray at least confirming that he’s in the film:

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