With the anticipation for the upcoming Superman getting higher and higher with each passing day, it’s natural for the fans to also want to know what the main antagonist will look like to match the superhero’s prestige. For that, James Gunn has brought Nicholas Hoult to play the role of the evil mastermind Lex Luthor in the project.

Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy in a still from X-Men: Apocalypse

But despite the star being deemed by the co-ceo of DC Studios to be perfect for the role of the main antagonist, the star still has to live up to the legacy of several iterations of the villain over the years in the industry.

While every single version may have had its own charm to it, Hoult believes that Michael Rosenbaum’s version of Luthor in Smallville was exceptional, which is why it’s his and Gunn’s favorite.