“The role was supposed to be a lot bigger”: James Gunn’s Favorite Lex Luthor Wants to Make His MCU Return After a Short GOTG Appearance

We were robbed of more of Michael Rosenbaum’s Martinex.

Among DC fans, Michael Rosenbaum is notable for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Smallville, which James Gunn previously deemed his favorite iteration of the character onscreen. Apart from Luthor, Rosenbaum has also voiced several other DC characters, including Deadman, Kid Flash, and Barry Allen, across shows like Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Teen Titans, etc.

However, his stint in the realm of superheroes isn’t just limited to DC, as thanks to his good pal Gunn, the actor landed the role of Martinex in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. But per the actor, his role in the films was initially supposed to be a lot bigger than it ended up being.

Michael Rosenbaum Will Gladly Return for More Martinex

When it comes to dealing with a huge cast in superhero flicks, few do it better than James Gunn. Not only does he succeed in making the main cast shine, but Gunn is also notable for making characters, with little to no screen time, great. This is prominent in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, especially with the Ravagers, which includes Rosenbaum’s Martinex, Sylvester Stallone’s Stakar Ogord, Michelle Yeoh’s Aleta, etc.

While we only see Martinex for a few brief moments in both films, the actor revealed that his role was originally written to be a lot bigger and the film also would’ve seen him exploring his powers.

Rosenbaum told Comicbook.com: I mean, the role was supposed to be a lot bigger. They cut a lot out. Well, you were supposed to see, it was written in the script to see Martinex’s powers, which were really cool. But they had so much to talk about in the script that they ended up cutting it out in the end. And there was some other stuff.

Although it’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of Martinex, Rosenbaum is open to returning in the character’s shoes in future MCU installments, as he holds no grudges against his good pal Gunn.

Michael Rosenbaum Has No Hard Feelings Against James Gunn

Even though it’s unfortunate that his role was trimmed down in order to make room for other story elements, Michael Rosenbaum harbors no hard feelings against the Guardians director. Recounting his experience on the Guardians sets, the Smallville star revealed that he enjoyed working with his friends on a major Marvel project, stressing he is very grateful.

He said: But it was fun. For me it’s like, I’m working with my friends, I get paid, I’m in a big Marvel movie, life could suck worse. You know what I mean? I’m very grateful.

With Gunn now in charge of the DCU, we might see Rosenbaum sooner or later in the new chapter of DC. Even though we won’t be seeing Gunn’s favorite Luthor playing the iconic Superman villain once again, there are still a plethora of DC characters that would perfectly fit the bill for Rosenbaum.