Casting a new actor to play Superman on the big screen is never easy, but the selection process was particularly difficult for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, because the movie was both uncharacteristically gritty for a Superman movie and planned as the first installment in a Marvel-style interconnected cinematic universe based around DC Comics characters.
When it was successful enough to launch such a universe, the next casting challenge was picking someone to play Supes’ arch nemesis, Lex Luthor, in Batman v Superman. Henry Cavill and Jesse Eisenberg ended up landing the roles, but they weren’t the producers’ first choices.
Superman: Matt Bomer
The producers’ first choice for the role of Clark Kent in Man of Steel was Matt Bomer. He’d previously voiced Superman in the animated Superman Unbound and went on to play Negative Man in the TV series Doom Patrol.
Bomer had auditioned to play Superman in an unproduced movie written by J.J. Abrams back in 2002, so the studio was familiar with him and thought he was right for the part.
Lex Luthor: Tom Hanks
One of the most interesting behind-the-scenes details from Batman v Superman is that Tom Hanks was considered for the role of Lex Luthor. This may have been when the script was very different, because BvS’ Lex is written as a young, whiny brat.
Suffice to say, Batman v Superman would’ve been a very different movie if Hanks had played Lex. The actor might’ve only been considered because the producers heard him say in an interview that he wanted to “play the bad guy against Batman.”
Superman: David Giuntoli
Before Henry Cavill was cast in Man of Steel, David Giuntoli did a screen test for the part. He believes he lost out on the role because he was too short, as he’s 5’11” and Superman is traditionally depicted as being 6’3”.
Giuntoli is best known for starring as Detective Nick Burkhardt in NBC’s Grimm, and went on to appear in Michael Bay’s true-to-life Benghazi thriller 13 Hours.
Lex Luthor: Bradley Cooper
The producers of Batman v Superman considered Bradley Cooper to play their weird Silicon Valley version of Lex Luthor. This would’ve made Cooper one of the only actors in both the DCEU and the MCU, since he plays Rocket in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies.
While Cooper didn’t take the role of Lex, he did serve as an executive producer on 2019’s Joker for director Todd Phillips, with whom he’d worked on The Hangover trilogy.
Superman: Joe Manganiello
Joe Manganiello met with Zack Snyder to discuss playing Superman in Man of Steel, but he ultimately couldn’t take the part because the movie’s shooting schedule clashed with that of his series True Blood.
Snyder eventually gave Manganiello a different role in the DC Extended Universe, playing Slade Wilson (a.k.a. Deathstroke) in the post-credits scene of Justice League.
Lex Luthor: Matt Damon
Despite making cameo appearances in Deadpool 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, Matt Damon has yet to play a major role in a comic book movie. He was considered to play Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but the part went to Jake Gyllenhaal.
Damon was also considered for the role of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman. He would’ve undoubtedly played the role very differently than Jesse Eisenberg did.
Superman: Armie Hammer
The producers of Man of Steel considered Armie Hammer for the role of Clark Kent. Hammer is a charismatic actor with all the traditional physical qualities of Superman, so it makes sense that he was under consideration for the part.
From The Lone Ranger to The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Hammer has struggled to launch franchises. Playing Superman would’ve given his career a huge boost (but also might’ve prevented his involvement in Call Me By Your Name).
Lex Luthor: Adam Driver
Adam Driver is one of the finest actors working today, giving terrific performances in Marriage Story, BlacKkKlansman, Paterson, Silence, While We’re Young, and a bunch of other recent gems. The producers of BvS considered him to play Lex Luthor.
After being burdened with all three Star Wars sequels, Driver kind of dodged a bullet avoiding a major commitment to the trainwreck of the DCEU.
Superman: Zac Efron
Zac Efron was briefly considered for the role of Superman, although he’s a few inches shorter than the character is usually depicted as. Efron has managed to successfully shake his High School Musical image without playing a superhero.
The actor is a popular fan casting for the role of the Human Torch in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, so he could play a comic book hero yet.
Lex Luthor: Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix was one of the actors considered to play Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman. Of course, he ended up playing one of DC Comics’ other flagship villains, the Joker, in an R-rated standalone movie directed by Todd Phillips for which he won an Oscar.
Funnily enough, the way that the eventually cast Jesse Eisenberg played Lex in BvS was called a pale imitation of Heath Ledger’s Joker by some critics.