There’s a moment early on in Superman when Lex Luthor is shouting commands for different fight moves to a team of people remote controlling a supervillain where you think two things. “It looks like Lex is playing a big, elaborate video game,” and “I’ve never seen anything like this in a superhero movie before.” Both things are true, and when io9 spoke with actor Nicholas Hoult about his villainous turn in the DC film, we asked him about it.
Speaking in Los Angeles recently, we asked Hoult what it was like shooting this unique take on Lex’s battles with Superman. “Yeah, it’s interesting when you’re kind of a puppeteer behind the scenes because you’re there at the hub, but you’re not necessarily seeing exactly what’s going on,” Hoult said of shooting the scene. “And sometimes I was lucky where they’d already have shot David [Corenswet]’s opposing side of the scenes, but otherwise it’s a lot of imagination and trying to guess the energy of what’s needed at that point. And that’s where James [Gunn] is so wonderful as a director because he’s very clear in what his vision is and what he needs. He’s collaborative and inviting to try things and new ideas, but also he’s like, ‘This is what I need; this is what the movie is at this moment,’ and pushes you until he gets that. So it’s a fun environment to work in.”
Another major action scene in Superman was shot in a decidedly less “fun environment.” That’s the scene when Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) land on the beach searching for Superman. Mister Terrific protects Lois in a force field while he destroys a bunch of LuthorCorp soldiers, all while the song “5 Years Time” by Noah and the Whale plays alongside.
“This is quite literally the first time I’ve ever spoken about shooting this scene,” Brosnahan said to io9. “It was a blast… it was so fun. Edi Gathegi, I’ve been such a fan of his from afar for such a long time. He’s such a talented actor, but I feel like people don’t often get to see this side of him. He’s so dry in the movie. He’s so funny. And that scene in particular we shot on a 100-degree day in Cleveland on a beach.”
“And the humidity was high too. It was a wreck of a week,” Superman himself, David Corenswet, added in. “It was an absolutely miserable experience, and Edi had to shoot this huge stunt scene, and there were so many stunt performers in huge costumes,” Brosnahan continued. “I just remember us all melting, but Edi was a total pro. You guys all were with your little briefcases filled with cooling air that would pump through the suits. But that was one of the first scenes that Edi and I got to shoot together. So that’s what I think about mostly that day, just watching him fight against all the odds and kill that scene.”
They all killed their scenes, which is why Superman seems to be hitting with fans and critics alike. It’s now in theaters.
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