Superman & Lois: The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz joins the cast as Lex Luthor for Season 3

The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz is suiting up as the billionaire villain Lex Luthor for the third season of Superman & Lois.

Superman & Lois, Lex Luthor, Michael Cudlitz

The Walking Dead‘s Michael Cudlitz is going from the wastelands of a zombie apocalypse to the highrises of Metropolis when he joins the cast of Superman & Lois for the show’s third season. According to Entertainment Weekly, Cudlitz is playing a new version of the supervillain genius known to hold the DC Universe in a vice-like grip tighter than Superman’s most aggressive handshake.

Per the EW’s official description, “Cudlitz’s Lex Luthor is known to the world as the visionary billionaire behind LexCorp, but secretly, the criminal underworld knows who Lex truly is: a brutal psychopath who terrorizes anyone he crosses paths with. When Lex debuts this season, it’s been years since he dropped out of the public eye, and he’s re-emerging hellbent on correcting a personal injustice by enacting revenge on the two people he feels have wronged him — Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch).”

If I know anything after decades of reading DC comics, you don’t get on Lex Luthor’s bad side. Granted, Superman always saves the day, but he often deals with atrocities before Luthor’s plans crumble. I’m talking about loved ones in danger, Kryptonite sickness, sentient machines marching through the streets; the list never ends. Oh, and don’t even get me started about Lex’s super suit or when he poses as a hero to pull the wool over Superman’s eyes. Luthor is a wily, unpredictable, and dangerous adversary. You never know what he’ll do next.

Cudlitz is known for playing Abraham on AMC‘s The Walking Dead. He also directed four episodes of Robert Kirkman’s legendary comic series adaptation. Cudlitz also stars in Daming Chen’s (The Painted VeilKill Bill: Vol 1) upcoming crime drama Unspoken. Chen directed and co-wrote the feature with Peter Walters. The plot focuses on a grieving Chinese father who travels to America to collect his daughter and stays to catch the killer. Jake Abel, Ari Millen, Matthew Del Bel Belluz, Paul Essiembre, Kathy Wu, and Adam Hurtig also star.

What do you think about Cudlitz playing Lex Luthor in Superman & Lois Season 3? It’s a left-field pick, no? I’m having a difficult time seeing him in the role. However, it might make much more sense after he shaves his head. I look forward to seeing his transformation. Feel free to sound off in the comments below.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.