Robert Downey Jr Almost Played Lex Luthor In DC’s Lost Superman Movie

What if Robert Downey Jr. crossed over to DC and stepped into the shoes of Lex Luthor opposite Superman? That possibility was almost a reality thanks to a high-profile canceled DC movie from the early 2000s. Just imagine the MCU’s Iron Man, infusing Luthor’s cold, calculating demeanor with his trademark theatrics and flair, transforming the arch-nemesis of Superman into a figure that is both dangerously genius and unexpectedly human.

With the Superman franchise being rebooted with the upcoming Superman Legacy, Lex Luthor will once more join the DC movie timeline. While Robert Downey Jr. won’t play him, the Oscar-nominated actor understands beautifully flawed characters better than anyone, and his missed opportunity remains one of DC’s biggest. Crucially, Superman movies are only as good as the balancing act of its two most prominent characters. To think how close the DCEU came to seeing this reality play out is enticing, to say the least.

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Robert Downey Jr Was Once Cast As Lex Luthor

Five years before he first played Tony Stark in Iron Man (2009) and stepped into a career-defining role, Robert Downey Jr. was cast for an equally legendary but altogether different role as Lex Luthor. While many may not even know about the lost Superman: Flyby movie, RDJ’s role in it may be even less well-known. It’s a fun scenario to imagine: the provocative RDJ version of Lex Luthor squaring off against Superman.

Before Bryan Singer took the lead for Superman Returns, another project was in the works, an earlier Superman reboot with a screenplay penned by a young J.J. Abrams. Director McG was eventually tasked with handling this earlier reboot before leaving due to logistical issues. Final casting decisions hadn’t been made for other roles, although names like Henry Cavill, Scarlett Johansson, and Shia LaBeouf were reportedly considered for various characters​.

Why RDJ Would Have Made A Great Lex Luthor

Few actors are more capable of breathing life into their roles than Robert Downey Jr., and the thought of him breathing fresh life into such an infamous and legendary supervillain as Lex Luthor is huge. Given his performance as Tony Stark, who balanced charisma with an inherent darkness, it’s easily imaginable to see RDJ doing similar in the role of Lex Luthor. His performance style could have grounded the villain and made him feel more human and relatable, which is key to the most complex of villain performances.

It’s not hard imagining RDJ playing the complicated, two-faced version of Lex Luthor, who wrestles between his realities of smart, funny, charming and suave billionaire and his baser instincts of lusting for power and fear of the uncontrollable. Had Superman: Flyby progressed, we might have seen a Lex Luthor who was perversely dark in a way that almost anyone can uncomfortably relate to. A version of the villain that is as much anti-hero as an outright ruthless villain. RDJ has the range of acting skills, past experience in similar roles, and the personality to carry the role to any of these realities.

Going from the lead Avenger to the one supervillain that can go toe-to-toe with the Kryptonian God would add a layer the franchise hasn’t experienced before. It’s easy to imagine RDJ taking on the character and making him relatable to audiences or how he would invent and suit up in the infamous power suit that proved a match for even Superman. His starting the League of Doom instead of being a leader in the Avengers would have been the ultimate dark mirror to reality.

Why McG’s Superman Was Canceled

When Superman: Flyby – whose title was actually said to be Superman: Man Of Steel despite the Internet’s affection for the alternate title – initially came to light in 2001, McG was the first name attached. He then dropped out for Charlie’s Angels and was replaced by Brett Ratner. Ratner, who took over in September 2002, faced significant challenges, especially when it came to casting the lead role. He considered several prominent actors, including Josh Hartnett and Jude Law, but struggled to get anyone to commit due to the likely obligations and time commitments required for future sequels.

Christopher Reeve, the legendary original Superman, joined as a project consultant, advocating for casting an unknown actor in the lead role. This would completely work around the issue and flip the fear of commitment into the hope for it instead, which was a smart strategy. Reeve’s vision for the role was that the character’s mythology was more significant than any single actor. Despite various auditions and considerations, including David Boreanaz and Ashton Kutcher, the role remained open.

The ambitious production, staggering under the weight of a soaring budget exceeding $200 million, also wanted to tap high-profile actors like Christopher Walken and Anthony Hopkins in other critical roles. However, Superman: Flyby hit a roadblock when Ratner exited in March 2003, leading to McG’s brief return. His tenure was marked by his unique casting choices and departure due to logistical and budgetary disagreements, setting the stage for Bryan Singer’s takeover and the eventual pivot to Superman Returns in 2006.

The cancelation of DC’s Superman: Flyby project was due to several factors. Budget constraints top the list, with Warner Bros. aiming to cut costs by $25m by filming in Australia. However, as he admitted in 2012, McG has a fear of flying, which ultimately led to him dropping out of the project, as he told THR:

“I tried to tell [then-Warner Bros.’ execs] Alan Horn and Barry Meyer at the time, ‘Hey guys, I’m really afraid to fly. And they were like, ‘Come on! You’re McG. You’ll be fine.’”

This project’s failure to launch is another reminder of the fragile nature of film production, where creative visions, personal challenges, and logistical constraints can collide, leading to the unrealized potential of what might have been an extraordinary cinematic experience. It also gives audiences something to hope for in future versions of the Superman and Lex Luthor mythos across the DCEU.

Robert Downey Jr. takes flawed characters and makes an art of finding what makes them unique, what makes them connect with audiences, and what makes them so much fun to watch and relate to. Those characteristics in Lex Luthor would have let audiences question who exactly they’re rooting for, which would have added layers of complication to the storyline, amplifying the drama and suspense tenfold. Lex Luthor could effortlessly embody so many of the fears and ugly fruition of those fears that society is currently facing, and RDJ would have been perfect at bringing all of this to the big screen.