Jesse Eisenberg to Play Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman Movie

Posted by on January 31st, 2014   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics

lexluthor

It appears that choosing Ben Affleck as Batman was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shocking and unexpected casting announcements from Warner Brothers for their upcoming Man of Steel sequel. After months of speculation about who might play Superman arch enemy Lex Luthor in the new DC Cinematic Universe, they have chosen to go outside the box by casting Jesse Eisenberg in the role. It may sound like an April Fool’s Joke in January, but it has been confirmed with an official press release. While I have to give them props for avoiding obvious choices like Bryan Cranston and basically any other actor who has ever been bald on screen before, I have to admit, this does seem like they’re going a bit too far in the other direction. I get that Lex Luthor is supposed to be a super genius, but isn’t he also supposed to be intimidating? Here’s what Zack Snyder had to say about the announcement:


“Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.”

They also announced today that Jeremy Irons will be playing Bruce Wayne’s butler and most trusted ally, Alfred Pennyworth. Clearly that makes a bit more sense, but I suspect that fans will once again be up in arms over the casting of Eisenberg. Keep in mind, we still don’t know if Lex Luthor is the film’s primary villain; previous rumours indicated that Doomsday might be involved as well so it’s possible that Luthor could even be a good guy this time around. What do you think, is this an inspired casting choice or is this movie just becoming a lost cause? Batman vs. Superman hits theatres on May 6th, 2016.



  • Owozifa

    “It appears that choosing Ben Affleck as Batman was just the tip of the Eisenberg when it comes to shocking and unexpected casting announcements
    from Warner Brothers for their upcoming Man of Steel sequel.”

    Fixed your opening paragraph for you, Sean.

  • Doug the Head

    Might as well. The first film sucked so hard, and the second one will probably be just as bad, that someone like him deserves to be in it.

  • Sean

    How could I miss such an obvious pun??

  • Film Junk Fan 15

    Sooooo…..
    No Bryan Cranston!!
    No Mark Strong!!
    we get Jesse Eisenberg

    Rather Odd, The Guy has a Full set of Hair & is very young
    Still it could be interesting

  • @queirozzzzzzzzz

    Is a killing Joke. =P

  • Theo

    Who says Jesse Eisenberg can’t be intimidating? He’s an actor….a pretty decent one at that. Who’s to say he doesn’t have it in him. I never excepted Elijah Wood to be an intimidating actor, until I saw him play Kevin in, Sin City, or that psychopath in, Maniac. As for Jesse’s age….. He’s the exact same age as Henry Cavill…. so the whole Batman V.S. Superman “pre college poster” doesn’t make much sense. Funny poster though…..by the way. Also just because an actor has a full head of hair, doesn’t mean that the dude can’t take some clippers and cut that shit off. Speaking of….. didn’t Gene Hackman have hair in the old outdated 80’s Superman films? I mean I know he was “acting” like he was wearing wigs, throughout the Chris Reeves movies…. but the whole time it was his hair…… minus the bald cap scenes. In my opinion,
    Man of Steel was fucking awesome…. just misunderstood by a lot of haters of the film. They were expecting The Superman that helps cats out of trees, turns back time with super speed, and rebuilds the Wall of China use telekinesis. Man of Steel wasn’t called Superman, for a reason. To me MoS was simply introducing to the audience, what kind of damage Kryptonians can do in just one day, as well as Kal-El’s first day on the job…. I wish this sequel the best.
    The funny thing is….. I’m willing to bet that the majority of MoS haters out there will still be spending time out of there lives, watching this sequel.

  • pineapplepuss

    This movie is really shaping up to be stupid

  • devolutionary

    I’ll say this much. Jesse Eisenberg is more than capable of pulling off the mannerisms (and likely the talking style) of Lex Luthor. As far as the looks, well that’s what CGI is for!!!!

  • Napalm

    I dread they are gonna play him up as the tech-savvy brilliant villain. If that’s the case then color me disappointed. Jason Isaac, Ray Stevenson etc were so much more well suited for this role. Shame…

  • Henrik

    LOVE. IT. The first one didn’t have many cool actors, but this one is shaping up to have somebody interesting on screen for a lot of the movie. They could be a waste, but I for one am very excited about this Justice League movie!

  • Theo

    lol

  • Jason Black

    He’s great in The Social Network and i would say intimidating also…thinking how he put everyone in their place here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6f-6l0W-0o.
    Maybe not menacing…intimidatingly smart?

    Thumbs up from me

  • Affleck and Eisenberg and Gal Gadot are not the problem with this movie. Zach Snyder is the problem with this movie.

  • Theo

    …..In your opinion, maybe… In mine…. David S. Goyer “WAS” the problem. But not anymore. Argo screenplay writer will be taking over the script. Man of Steel’s visuals were awesome and very detailed, the cinematography was great and very realistic (hand held), thanks to Snyder. I thought MoS was a great comic book movie. the only problem I had with that film was some of the lines in the movie. I have a feeling the script will turn out a lot better than the first one.