James Gunn’s Superman will boast an arsenal of seven villains confirmed so far, but only one will stand above the rest as the main antagonist.
The villains of Superman will have plenty of adversity to contend with, as many superheroes are already confirmed to feature, including the Man of Steel, Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Metamorpho, Mr. Terrific, and Krypto.
The Villains & Antagonists of James Gunn’s Superman Movie
Lex Luthor
X-Men: First Class actor Nicholas Hoult was once up for the role of Superman (and another DC hero), only to lose out to David Corenswet. But the British star still found a place in the 2025 blockbuster as the legendary DC villain Lex Luthor.
James Gunn confirmed that the billionaire genius and LuthorCorp founder, who has a neverending vendetta against Superman, will be his movie’s “main villain.”
Luthor is renowned as the archnemesis of Superman, coming up with nefarious schemes, using his wealth, and manipulating others to cause him torment.
Eve Teschmacher
Eve Teschmacher is Lex Luthor’s assistant, created for 1978’s Superman. Valerie Perrine played her role, but this time, the role will fall to Portuguese model and actress Sara Sampaio.
Luthor’s assistant isn’t entirely evil per se, as she questions his schemes but still happily plays along with them as part of her job.
While Teschmacher won’t pose a physical threat to Superman, perhaps she could find herself going toe-to-toe with Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane.
Otis
Bringing back another character from Richard Donner’s Superman movies is Outer Banks actor Terence Rosemore as Otis – Lex Luthor’s goofy and dimwitted henchman, who the late Ned Beatty originally played.
Otis’ role in Superman ought to be minor, but he will still presumably get his time to shine with some memorable moments opposite Nicholas Hoult’s Luthor.
Angela Spica / The Engineer
Venezuelan actress María Gabriela de Faría will play Angela Spica, aka the Engineer, who dabbles between the villainous and anti-hero sides.
Due to the nanites in her bloodstream, the Engineer has a liquid metal body that can shapeshift, interface with technology, manipulate electricity, and fly.
Superman won’t be a one-and-done for the Engineer, as she is famously a member of the Authority, who will officially lead a DCU ensemble during the Chapter 1 slate. No release date or creative team has been announced yet.
While Spica was absent from the Superman teaser trailer, a glimpse at the Engineer suited up on set surfaced online during production in March 2024.
Unknown Kaiju Monster
During the teaser trailer, Superman faced off with a fire-breathing kaiju monster in the skies of Metropolis, the exact origins of which are unclear.
The creature doesn’t resemble anything from DC Comics, but it could be the result of Lex Luthor’s scientific experiments or something of alien origin.
Ultraman (Rumored)
While Ultraman has not been officially confirmed for Superman yet, leaks and rumors revealed his antagonistic presence in the DCU flick.
Fans even glimpsed at Ultraman arresting Superman with Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., currently appearing weekly in Creature Commandos.
Unlike DC Comics’ Ultraman, a member of the Crime Syndicate from elsewhere in the Multiverse, the DCU version will reportedly be a Superman clone (presumably played by David Corenswet) created by Lex Luthor.
Maxwell Lord (Bonus)
Before Superman started filming, Guardians of the Galaxy star Sean Gunn (brother to director James Gunn) was cast as the evil DC businessman Maxwell Lord, played in Wonder Woman 1984 by Pedro Pascal.
While the Deadline report stated Lord will be referenced in Superman, it was unclear whether Gunn will appear, but he will feature in future DCU projects.
His background role was teased by set photos of several Justice League heroes with a LordTech logo on their suits, indicating their ties to his enterprise.
In a post on Threads, James Gunn teased how it would be “a bit reductionist” to call Lord a villain, perhaps pointing to a more anti-hero agenda.
Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
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