James Gunn Says Lex Luthor Isn’t a Villain — Superman Fans Quickly Prove Otherwise

James Gunn just reignited DC fandom, using a birthday shoutout to cast Lex Luthor as more than a straight-up villain and tease a new dynamic in the next Superman film — and fans are firing back with receipts from decades of on-screen wrongdoing.

James Gunn, never one to let a birthday go by quietly, used Lex Luthor's big day to stir the pot and tee up the next phase of his Superman saga. Yes, that Lex Luthor. Protector of Earth now, apparently.

Gunn's birthday message doubles as a teaser

On Feb 23, 2026, Gunn marked the anniversary of Lex's first comics appearance with a wink and a nudge, hyping the character's... civic-mindedness. He also slipped in a tease about where things are headed on the big screen.

"Happy Birthday to the ambitious and unstoppable CEO and scientist Lex Luthor, who most definitely is NOT a villain, but instead a protector of earth and humanity (he swears on a stack of Bibles). We’ll see how he does working with arch-nemesis Superman in MAN OF TOMORROW, in theaters summer of 27."

Gunn even tipped his hat to the origin: Luthor debuted in Superman #4, credited to writer Jerry Siegel, with art by Joe Shuster (pencils) and Paul Cassidy (inks). Nerdy wrinkle, noted.

So, what is Man of Tomorrow?

Gunn is directing the follow-up to his 2025 Superman movie, and he wants you to know Lex and Clark will be on the same side... at least for a bit. Details are thin, but the broad strokes are set.

• Title: Man of Tomorrow
• U.S. theatrical release: July 9, 2027
• Studio: DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures
• Director: James Gunn
• Cast: David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Lars Eidinger as Brainiac
• Timeline: Follows the 2025 Superman; filming starts later this year
• Continuity: Hoult's Lex already showed up in Superman and popped in for a cameo in Peacemaker Season 2

Fans did not let the 'protector' thing slide

Once Gunn floated the idea of Team Superman/Lex, fans fired up the receipts. People pointed back to Luthor allowing casualties during the rift crisis in the last movie, and to him straight-up killing an innocent man. The running joke all day was the falafel vendor incident, which has become shorthand for Lex doing Lex things.

"Didn't he execute an innocent falafel cart vendor? Bro should be in prison for that alone, falafels are great."

Others are just curious to see how a 'Lex as hero' angle plays out, especially with Brainiac in the mix. Gunn says the two will work together. He is not saying how long that truce lasts.

The read

Calling Lex a protector is a fun bit of marketing mischief, but it also sets expectations: this sequel is less about another round of 'Superman vs. Lex' and more about what happens when the smartest man in Metropolis needs the strongest one to stop an even bigger problem. We'll see how long the handshake holds.