Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum hopes to be “in the running” to play the DCU version of Lex Luthor.
If we get a new Superman in the DCU, new incarnations of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor are sure to follow. Thanks to James Gunn and Peter Safran, the future plans for Superman are changing dramatically as plans for the DCU movies converge. Controversially, Gunn and Safran rejected all plans for Henry Cavill’s Superman to continue in the DCU. This is because Gunn is writing the script for someone else Superman movie that will introduce a younger version of the alien superhero.
Note that recasting of these main characters is imminent, actor Michael Rosenbaumwho played Lex Luthor in the prequel series Small town, wants his name on the hat to play the DCU version of that same villain. On Twitter, a fan suggested Michael Rooker for Lex Luthor, likely due to the former’s frequent collaborations with Gunn. In response to that post, Rosenbaum reminded everyone that he played Lex for years and hopes this will give him an edge in landing the role.
“I hope I participate,” Rosenbaum writes. “I mean, I played against him for 7 years. Unless you guys have a problem with that.”
Michael Rosenbaum wants to keep playing Lex
It’s no shock to see Michael Rosenbaum hopeful to play Lex Luthor. He’s clearly excited about playing that role, as he’s been working Small town co-star Tom Welling to get a continuation of the series off the ground. The two have developed plans for an animated series adaptation, and that would allow Rosenbaum to return as the voice of Lex. However, Rosenbaum said he had the chance to reprise the role on The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, but he turned it down because he wasn’t shown a script first.
“I’ll just be honest about this,” Rosenbaum said of why he didn’t do the cameo. “WB called my agents Friday afternoon when I was in Florida to visit my grandfather in a nursing home. Their offer: No script. No idea what I’m doing. No idea when I’m shooting. No money, really. And the real kick in the butt “We need to know now.” My simple answer was ‘Pass’. I think you can understand why.”
Maybe with the DCU it will be different. In any case, it doesn’t hurt Rosenbaum to make his wishes known, because that puts him in the running.