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James Gunn has just released this still from the set of Man of Tomorrow, and Alasdair Stuart has thoughts.

This is Lex Luthor, played once again by Nicholas Hoult, wearing his iconic green and purple battle suit. What only becomes apparent when you look closer, is how cleverly this design ties Gunn’s movie to the comics.

Lex’s green and purple battlesuit has had an interesting history. At one point Lex was living on the alien world of Lexor (yes indeed) and adopted a Lexorian battle suit as his own. More recently he’s used it primarily to fight Superman. But this is Lex Luthor, a man made entirely of genius and ego. As Deathstroke the Terminator once pointed out to him, he’s spent billions developing it but never bothered with a helmet because he couldn’t stand the thought of his face being obscured so no one could see how clever he was.

That brings us neatly to Gunn and Hoult’s version. Firstly, this is the practical suit, meaning Hoult will presumably be able to walk around and act in it to some degree and it’s gorgeous! Big and chunk and functional and real. Secondly, think of what the enhanced versions are going to do if this is the practical effect!

But most interestingly, as others have pointed out, the suit looks more than a little familiar. It’s essentially a repainted and modified Hammer of Boravia armour from Gunn’s first movie. A nod to Lex’s efficiency, a callback to his early villainy and just something really cool to look at. Nicely done.

Man of Tomorrow is filming now and will release next year.