Matthew Vaughn says Taron Egerton would be an 'amazing' Lex Luthor, details rejected Superman trilogy pitch

James Gunn's Superman: Legacy is set for its heroes, with David Corenswet on board to play the Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan stepping into the role of Lois Lane. But another major role, Lex Luthor, has yet to be cast… and fellow filmmaker Matthew Vaughn has some ideas.

On the latest episode of Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, Vaughn (whose new spy film Argylle hits theaters in February) pitched his frequent collaborator Taron Egerton as the perfect choice to play Superman's archnemesis, even though the actor has been suggested by fans to play Wolverine in new X-Men movies.

"I think he'd be better as Lex Luthor," Vaughn said. "He'd be an amazing Luthor. He shouldn't be Wolverine. I don't think he's right for it. Hugh [Jackman] is brilliant as Wolverine, but I'd go back to the what the comics are… [He's] a small, grizzly tough guy. Hugh has made it so iconic that whoever's trying to do Hugh would be buggered. Taron would make an amazing, intelligent villain with depth."

Rich Fury/Getty Images; Everett Collection Could Taron Egerton be a worthy successor to Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? His 'Kingsman' director Matthew Vaughn thinks so.

Egerton might have to go bald for the role, but at least he wouldn't have to wear a fake mustache again. Speaking to EW earlier this year about Tetris (which Vaughn produced), Egerton said about his artificial stash in that film: "I will never, ever do it again."

Although Gunn is firmly in charge of Superman movies right now, Vaughn also revealed that he previously pitched DC on a trilogy of films alongside his frequent collaborator Mark Millar (the writer of Kingsman and Kick-Ass, among other comics). This was back before Man of Steel, and Warner Bros. ultimately went with Zack Snyder instead.

"Our big idea was this twist that Krypton doesn't blow up," Vaughn said of his and Millar's pitch. "It does, eventually. The dad was right, but he got his timing wrong. When Superman is grown up, suddenly there's a mass exodus and all hell breaks loose. That was our main idea."

In addition to Luthor, Vaughn's Superman films would have featured Brainiac and Zod as villains. Zod was played by Michael Shannon in Man of Steel and this year's The Flash, but the artificial intelligence known as Brainiac has never appeared in a live-action DC film.

Egerton and Vaughn will be collaborating again soon, with Vaughn teasing at New York Comic Con that Kingsman 3 is high on his to-do list after finishing with Argylle.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• Matthew Vaughn says Halle Berry was tricked into X-Men: The Last Stand with fake Storm script

• Matthew Vaughn teases upcoming Kick-Ass reboot and gives Kingsman 3 update

• Dua Lipa to make movie debut with Henry Cavill in Argylle