Lex Luthor’s Official Man Of Tomorrow Design Contains A Subtle Easter Egg That Could Change James Gunn's DCU Forever - MCE Notices | California State Portal

DC movies are thriving right now with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe and Matt Reeves’ DC Elseworlds blossoming while the hotly anticipated sequels of Superman and The Batman—Man of Tomorrow and The Batman: Part II—are officially in production. Indeed, the DCU is white-hot and boasts a handful of compelling installments to look forward to, including this month’s Supergirl, August’s Lanterns, and October’s Clayface, with Man of Tomorrow now filming ahead of its summer 2027 release.

Part of the fun of set photos and movies filming outdoor scenes in public is that it’s neat to see the subtle alterations that’ve been made to Superman’s red-and-blue costume, as well as Lex Luthor’s green-and-purple warsuit mech. This warsuit, first revealed by James Gunn in a ceremonious photo, has now been seen in all its mobile glory, and one bold detail emblazoned on it has painted a vivid portrait of Lex’s role in Man of Tomorrow.

A.R.G.U.S. Has A New Secret Weapon: Lex Luthor

Lex’s warsuit is stunningly comic-accurate in Man of Tomorrow, and it’s doubly terrific that it’s not only a practical suit, but one that actor Nicholas Hoult can also walk around in. Narratively, the warsuit is probably one of the best upgrades that Lex could receive in the sequel, and there being an A.R.G.U.S. symbol on the suit makes it fairly obvious that Rick Flag Sr. and A.R.G.U.S. are who pluck Lex from Van Knull Penitentiary.

This isn’t a random development, however. Flag Sr. already visited Lex at Belle Reve in Peacemaker Season 2, for instance, and Lex would certainly be intelligent enough to secure a reduced or erased prison sentence for granting A.R.G.U.S. his services, and being able to go toe-to-toe with Superman after he was violently thrashed by Krypto might be all the convincing he needs to don a big mech suit.

Consequently, the A.R.G.U.S. symbol on the warsuit isn’t being treated as encroaching on spoiler territory, as it was aptly foreshadowed in Superman and Peacemaker that strings would be pulled and that they’d be in bed together. Lex was never going to be stuck in prison for the foreseeable future of the DCU, either, and this excuse makes as much sense as any other.

Man Of Tomorrow Truly Will Be A Superman/Lex Story

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor crying in Superman

Thanks to Man of Tomorrow’s set photos and ongoing filming, we know there will be at least one physical confrontation between Superman and Lex when Lex is wearing the warsuit. The warsuit’s head dome is made of Lexiglas, as explained by Gunn, which is likely designed to withstand Superman’s attacks and is probably why Superman is seen having to strike Lex repeatedly.

That said, with a looming Brainiac in their midst, it is believed that Superman and Lex will be temporary allies, ensuring that Lex is both a protagonist and an antagonist in Man of Tomorrow. Indeed, Lex is as much a protagonist as Superman in Man of Tomorrow, and there is nothing about this Superman sequel that suggests otherwise.

‘Man of Tomorrow’ alone invites ambiguity as to whether the title is referring to either Superman or Lex, and almost all of Man of Tomorrow’s teases have been centered around Lex, not Superman, including the Van Knull set photo and movie logo clapperboard reveal.

Man of Tomorrow is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 9, 2027.