Spacey to Return as Lex Luthor in "Man of Steel"

You know, sometimes I wonder if the people behind the Superman franchise realize that there are other super villains they can use. I mean, the only Superman feature film that didn’t feature Lex Luthor in it was Superman III, and the villain in that (Ross Webster) acted as much like Lex Luthor as possible. Now, granted, he was much less of a focus in Superman II, with Zod and Co. being the primary villains…and if I’m not mistaken, isn’t that most people’s favorite? (I’m partial to Superman III myself, but I know I’m in a minority on that one)

Regardless, Variety is reporting that Kevin Spacey is locked in to return as Lex Luthor in “The Man of Steel”, which Bryan Singer is supposed to direct after completing two other projects. The film is expected to hit theaters in 2009. That seems a little ambitious, I think, since the movie doesn’t even have a script yet.

I like the character of Lex Luthor. Particularly the more conflicted version of the character that has grown into his evil self on “Smallville”, but I can’t pretend to be excited about Superman Vs. Lex Luthor yet again. Maybe this one will be like Superman II, with Luthor appearing, but with another villain in the picture so that Supes can actually throw a punch this time around.