Actor Sean Gunn, who plays Maxwell Lord in Superman, recently spoke about whether his character would serve as a villain in DCU. Sean is the brother of James Gunn, the co-head of the DCU. He will reprise the role in Peacemaker Season 2.
Sean Gunn explains Maxwell Lord’s motivations in DCU
Sean Gunn agreed with James Gunn about whether Maxwell Lord is a villain in their fledgling franchise. Back in late 2023, James noted on Instagram, “Calling Maxwell Lord a villain seems reductionist. As he was originally portrayed in JLI made him one of my favorite characters.”
According to Sean, his brother his right on the subject. “I just wholeheartedly agree with his comment that, to call the character a villain is certainly not something that is leading the way for me as I tackle the character,” Sean Gunn told TheWrap at Fan Expo Chicago on Sunday. “I think he’s a lot more nuanced than that. And I don’t really see the problem with what he’s doing so far.”
While Sean accepted that this can potentially change in the future, he clarified that his iteration of Lord is “not an evil incarnate the way that Lex is.” Notably, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor serves as the primary antagonist in Superman.
In the same interview, Sean underscored certain fundamental differences between Luthor and Lord. The actor mentioned that their companies are in a “direct kind of conflict with each other.” He said that Luthor was “in the evil side of corporate greed,” whereas “LordTech is the altruistic corporation that really wants to make the world a better place..”
The Justice Gang, according to Sean, is Lord’s attempt to put his money where his mouth is “by trying to help this Justice Gang achieve a better world for everybody.”
Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire created Maxwell Lord for DC Comics. The character first appeared in the first issue of Justice League Vol. 1 in 1987. Pedro Pascal portrayed the character in Wonder Woman 1984.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.
