James Gunn recently phoned into The Howard Stern Show and confirmed the title Man of Tomorrow for his Superman sequel and staked out July 9, 202, for the upcoming DC movie. He also teased the hook of a Superman and Lex Luthor team-up, as the two are forced into an uneasy alliance when a larger threat hits Metropolis. Cue the speculation—including a killer piece of fan art that imagines Nicholas Hoult in Lex’s iconic War Suit.
Over on Instagram, a new piece of fan art, the popular digital artist @spdrmnkyxxiii, just stomped the gas on sequel speculation. The popular digital artist dropped a polished one-sheet, which you can see below, that envisions a Luthor, as performed by Nicholas Hoult, shoulder to shoulder with Supes in a sleek, emerald battle rig. It’s not an announcement, but it is a vibe.
Why does the armor choice matter in regard to the upcoming superhero movie? Because that “war suit” isn’t a random skin swap; it’s a deep cut from the comics. Lex started in the 1940s in Action Comics #23 as a genius baddie, mostly in street clothes or prison garb. The purple/green palette showed up in the ’70s as a jumpsuit with wrist lasers and repulsors—the look you remember from Super Friends merch. The true game-changer arrived in 1984: DC (working with Kenner on the Super Powers toyline) tapped George Pérez to redesign Lex into a full metal menace, debuting the armored suit in Action Comics #544 and marching it straight into Crisis on Infinite Earths. It briefly gave Metropolis’ master manipulator physical parity with Superman.
Post-Crisis (1986), Lex pivoted to billionaire kingpin—LexCorp suits instead of power armor—and that mogul version defined everything from Lois & Clark to The Adventures of Superman animated series (available with an HBO Max subscription) and beyond. But the war suit never stayed buried. In the 2000s, artists like Ed McGuinness and later runs (including Paul Cornell’s Action Comics) brought it back—sometimes bulkier, sometimes streamlined, always unmistakably purple and green. The point is, when the armor appears, it signals that Lex isn’t just out-thinking Superman; he’s coming for him or, at the very least, expecting to stand toe-to-toe with Big Blue.
By James Gunn’s own tease, Man of Tomorrow puts Clark and Lex in an uneasy alliance against a larger threat—my money’s on Brainiac. That setup practically begs for the War Suit: it gives Lex aerial parity with the Justice Gang and sets the stage for a darker twist. Think one of the best Justice League Unlimited episodes where: Brainiac piggybacks inside Luthor, culminating in a fused Luthor/Brainiac (“Luthoriac”). A similar possession turn could flip the partnership mid-fight—crowd-pleasing team-up first, terrifying third-act escalation next, with Clark trying to save the world without losing the ally at his side.
It’s also worth noting that Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow announcement arrived with artwork showing Lex in the purple-and-green War Suit beside Superman (who’s cheekily holding a screwdriver). So this fan piece isn’t out of left field—it riffs on imagery the DC exec has already put in front of fans.
To be clear, the poster featuring Lex in armor is fan art, not a DC Studios announcement. Dates, titles, and concepts evolve. Still, the comics history—and the film’s directors' own teases—make the armor feel like smart, crowd-pleasing canon. If he goes another direction, that’s his call; if he doesn’t, expect cheers when that suit hits the screen.
Whether Nicholas Hoult looks as cool as he does in the fan art, we’ll find out when Man of Tomorrow hits theaters on July 9, 2027. Before that, the DCU returns with the new Supergirl, which lands on the 2026 movie schedule on June 26th, 2026.
