Jon Cryer Cast as Lex Luthor in ‘Supergirl’
Last month it was reported that Lex Luthor was heading to Supergirl‘s National City. While fans of the show had plenty of ideas on who ought to portray Superman’s greatest enemy in the Arrowverse setting, I doubt any of them expected it would be Superman IV‘s Lenny Luthor!
On Friday Deadline confirmed that Jon Cryer has joined the cast of Supergirl as Lex in a recurring role. In a joint statement, Supergirl‘s executive producers Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner said the following:
“We are enormous fans of Jon Cryer, and he was instantly our dream actor to play the iconic role of Lex Luthor. Jon is a super-talent, and the fact that he played Lenny Luthor in Superman IV brings an added layer of legacy to his casting. We’re beyond thrilled to welcome Jon to the Supergirl family.”
While comic fans may remember Cryer as Lex’s nephew Lenny in the much-maligned Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the Emmy Award-winning actor is perhaps best known for his role on television as Alan Harper in Two and A Half Men. Given what we know about the character’s history on the show, it’s seems likely that Cryer’s Lex will be a mixture of Gene Hackman’s classic portrayal and the modern corporate tycoon. After all, he ran Luthor Corp before his half-sister Lena took over and renamed it L-Corp, but still tried to destroy California with man-made earthquakes. It will be interesting to see which direction Cryer and the creative team decide to take Lex in, and how big of a role he will have in a narrative where his traditional archnemesis Superman is a supporting character to Supergirl herself.
Cryer’s Lex Luthor is set to debut in the fifteenth episode of Supergirl‘s current season when the show returns after its mid-season break.
Chris is a lifelong fan of Disney, Star Wars and super heroes who can’t quite believe this golden age of movies and TV we’re living in. Having written blogs dedicated to Disney’s Aladdin musical and Star Wars Celebration, Chris is excited to be part of the MNN team.
