Superman and Lex Luthor have clashed for decades in the comics, movies, TV shows and other projects, and now the time has come for Superman and Lois to depict that feud. It’s been announced that Michael Cudlitz will play Luthor in The CW show’s upcoming third season, and now Jon Cryer, who played the chrome-domed antagonist on Supergirl, has shared his praise for The Walking Dead actor scoring the role. However, that praise was accompanied by a fun warning about Bitisie Tulloch, who plays Lois Lane.
Debuting as Lex Luthor in the middle of Supergirl Season 4, Jon Cryer’s version of the longtime DC Comics baddie caused trouble across 20 episodes of the Melissa Benoits-led series, and he also appeared in the Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow episodes from the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. As you’ll see from the below comment he shared on Twitter, while Cryer would have been game to reprise to play the Luthor being brought into Superman and Lois, he’s confident that Michael Cudlitz will do justice to the character.
Not gonna lie, sounds like this version of Lex Luthor is going to be very fun to play. I’m jealous. But this guy is going to absolutely crush it.
Had Superman and Lois been set in the main Arrowverse Earth, i.e. Earth-Prime, then it’s likely Jon Cryer would have returned as Lex Luthor, although then there would have needed to be an explanation for how he escaped the Phantom Zone, which he was dragged into during the Supergirl series finale (which Cryer wasn’t like at first). However, Superman and Lois’ Season 2 finale revealed that the show takes place on a different Earth, meaning the Superman and Lois Lane we followed along with in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” were not the same versions as the ones Bitsie Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin play in the show. Since it was established in “Crisis” that not all doppelgängers look alike or are even the same age, the stage was set for another actor to take over as Luthor, and that actor is now Michael Cudlitz.
Speaking of the man who played Abraham on The Walking Dead, after Michael Cudlitz responded to Jon Cryer’s above comment by saying that he’s “really looking forward to this” and has been a fan of Cryer’s work for years, the Two and a Half Men alum responded with this:
Thanks! But just a heads up: @BitsieTulloch is really, really mean and made me cry several times.
Uh oh, maybe Lex Luthor should be more concerned about Lois Lane laying a beatdown on him instead of Superman. Of course, Jon Cryer’s comment is all in good fun, and afterwards he posted a gif of a moment in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” when Bits Tulloch’s Lois Lane knocked out Lex Luthor while he was using the Book of Destiny. Tullock responded to this “claim” with a ‘face with tears of joy’ emoji and then provided some amusing context for how that scene was shot.
Michael Cudlitz being cast as Lex Luthor follows a few months after Titus Welliver’s outing as the character in the Titans Season 4 premiere. Although Cudlitz’s Luthor’s is known to the public as the visionary genius behind LexCorp, criminals know him as a “brutal psychopath who terrorizes anyone he crosses paths with.” After being absent from the public eye for years, Luthor will resurface in Superman and Lois Season 3 to exact revenge on Superman and Lois Lane, who he sees as the two people who have most wronged him.
Superman and Lois Season 3 kicks off Tuesday, March 14 on The CW. Keep track of other small screen premieres coming up with our 2023 TV schedule, and stream Superman and Lois’ first two seasons with an HBO Max subscription.
