While fans weren’t quite as negatively vocal aboutJesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor casting compared to the announcement thatBen Affleckhad landed theBatmanrole inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, many were still puzzled why they went with the 32-year-old actor for this iconic villain. He is much younger than bothGene HackmanandKevin Spaceywere when they played the bad guy. But we’ve slowly gotten new glimpses at this version of Lex in each incoming trailer. It’s become quite clear that this version ofLuthorwill be unlike any portrayal we’ve seen before. During a recent interview with Playboy,Jesse Eisenbergrevealed that his Lex is more in tuned to what modern-day audiences want out of a villain.
“The character is in line with what audiences want to see now, which is a more modern, psychologically realistic concept of Lex Luthor. His motivations are multifaceted; he has a way of using language that’s specific to the way his mind works; he struggles with interesting philosophical dilemmas like that of the individual having too much power, even if that individual is using that power for good. For instance,Supermanhas so far been using his powers to do some good, but is it safe to have someone like that walking the streets? It’s great that all of this happens in the context of a very excitingsuperhero movie.”
While Lex’s plans in the movie remain unclear, it has been rumored that he usesGeneral Zod’s corpse fromMan of Steelto create the iconic villainDoomsday. Lex has also been seen in the recent trailers as the person who actually brings Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) together during a charity function. But it remains unclear if he actually knows the alter-egos of both heroes.Jesse Eisenbergspoke very highly about working with bothBen AffleckandHenry Cavill.
“They’re both very smart, funny people. They were wonderful to work with because we were all sort of adjusting things to make the scenes as good as they could be. Henry has already playedSupermanin another movie so he has such a strong idea of his character. That was fun for me because I could play with that.Ben Affleckis also very sharp. Doing this was a lot of fun because the three of us like to improvise, changing dialogue and all. But it was also strange for me: I have a lot of respect for both of them and yet my character mocks them both a lot in the movie. But that was just the nature of the thing.”
There have been rumors that Lex Luthor will surface inSuicide Squad, which hits theaters in August, but that hasn’t been confirmed at this time. WhenBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicehits theaters on March 25, we’ll certainly get a better idea if Warner Bros. has plans to use this villain in more of their DC adventures. Are you looking forward to seeing this new version of Lex Luthor on the big screen next month? Chime in with your thoughts below, and stay tuned for more onBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
