Now that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is out there for the world to see, even the most ardent of James Gunn‘s critics have been given a handful of reasons to be quietly optimistic about the filmmaker’s Superman: Legacy.
Based entirely on the levels of critical acclaim enjoyed by his four feature-length comic book adaptations and solitary season of television so far, it’s not a stretch to suggest the new co-CEO of DC Studios is one of the medium’s finest and most consistently proven talents, which theoretically puts his impending Man of Steel reboot on solid footing to relaunch the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s rival franchise in spectacular style.
At the very least, Chukwudi Iwuji’s tour-de-force performance carries on Gunn’s tradition of writing layered and complex villains, which are then impeccably cast and immaculately performed. Ego the Living Planet, The Suicide Squad‘s The Thinker and Amanda Waller, and Peacemaker‘s Auggie Smith are all brought to vivid life through a combination of his words and the talent’s commitment to the material, even if we can all agree Ronan the Accuser was threadbare at best.
With that in mind, there’s no reason why Gunn can’t deliver the best live-action version of Lex Luthor we’ve ever seen. Gene Hackman has plenty of fans who’d name him as the current champion, although Michael Rosenbaum was excellent during his seven seasons of Smallville, while Jesse Eisenberg’s polarizing take is hardly difficult to exceed.
They say a hero is only as good as their villain, and with Superman being one of the most iconic there’s ever been, Legacy will need to ensure it gives him a big bad to match.