New Look at Lex Luthor in Man of Tomorrow Shows Iconic Armor In Action (& He’s Fighting Superman)

One day after James Gunn revealed Lex Luthor’s iconic green armor for the upcoming Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, we know why the filmmaker posted an official photo of the suit – as new set videos from the film have revealed the antihero in action. Man of Tomorrow is currently filming on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia and despite security’s best efforts to keep lookie loos from seeing anything too revealing, fans have already caught David Corenswet’s big blue boy scout hovering over the city streets as well as an undisclosed character (either Brainiac or Lex) sending a series of stunt-doubles flying.

As a result of the leaks and fan footage, it’s understandable that Gunn would want to get an official photo out before fans picked-apart set footage. After all, in the past, enthusiast fans have been notorious for pre-judging costume designs based on grainy and awkwardly-lit set photos. Getting ahead of all that with a studio-shot image of Lex in the suit makes what we’re seeing now fun – rather than worrying.

Check out the videos of Lex Luthor in-action on the Man of Tomorrow set:

Viewers who attended both nights of filming are beginning to piece together the various shots that Gunn has been capturing. Earlier, fans speculated Superman might have been fighting Brainiac in the scene – based on footage of a seemingly villainous character knocking civilians (stunt people) away. However, new footage makes it pretty clear that the scene depicts an altercation between the Man of Steel and a power armored-up Lex – considering that Corenswet is standing near a spot that prior video showed Luthor crashing. Watchers also describe Superman as punching someone – as a crowd cheers him on.

Considering where the prior Superman film left Lex (as a pariah that has been shunned by the public after nearly destroying Metropolis and the world), it’s easy to imagine why onlookers would cheer Superman (and even feel comfortable standing nearby as the pair battled). This would also explain what was happening in the scene where an imposing figure pushes back a group of civilians. Given that Luthor is just a man in a space suit, it’s easy to imagine everyday people taking matters into their own hands to express their anger with Superman nearby (especially if they don’t know the power and munitions in that armor). On the contrary, would fans run up to Brainiac, a glowing purple alien life form with tentacles? That seems like the kind of sight that would make most people run away.

It’s certainly possible the sequence plays out differently in the final film. Even if Lex is fighting Superman, he (or his suit) could be controlled by Brainiac – or these shots could depict a team-up between the Lex and Superman that, given we’re analyzing separate shots, just happens to appear as though they’re fighting each other. Either way, there’s no chance that Man of Tomorrow does not contain a Luthor V Superman face-off – so, until proven otherwise, the mostly likely scenario is the most obvious.