First glimpse at Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor

Many were skeptical about Jesse Eisenberg being cast as the legendary Superman villain, Lex Luthor, but a first glimpse at the actor as the character shows that he just might be able to pull it off.

Gone are Eisenberg's trademark curly locks and his usual pleasantly clueless facial expression.

Lionsgate pays $7 million for American Ultra

Lionsgate must believe in the chemistry between Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. The company just paid out $7 million to acquire the rights to the new indie action-comedy, American Ultra. Filming on the project begins next month in New Orleans.
The film tells the story of a stoner (Eisenberg) and his girlfriend (Stewart) after his life is turned around when he discovers the government is plotting to wipe him out due to his past. This is the second pairing of the actors who first collaborated in Greg Mottola's indie success, Adventureland, back in 2009. 

Kristen Stewart spent 2013 fairly under the radar in terms of film. She didn't even have a release last year. The last time we saw her was in 2012 when she starred in On the Road, Snow White and the Huntsman, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2. She recently starred in the military indie, Camp X-Ray, which premiered to so-so reviews at Sundance. She is also set to appear in Sils Maria and Anesthesia later this year.
Eisenberg was recently cast as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman vs Superman project and can be seen this year in The Double and Rio 2. At this point it's probably safe to say he's most famous for his roles in Now You See Me and Zombieland.

Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman

This is literally the funniest thing I have seen all week.

Jesse Eisenberg (or as I call him, Michael Cera 2.0) has been announced as the selection for Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman. Yes, the guy playing a wimpy virgin in just about every movie has been cast as one of the most iconic villains in the Superman arc and quite possibly in DC Comics history. In addition to Eisenberg's casting, we also learned that Jeremy Irons will be playing Bruce Wayne's trusted butler/guardian, Alfred.

There were a lot of rumors circling around Bryan Cranston for the role of Lex Luthor and I will admit it's just because he went bald for Breaking Bad and it just worked. However, given the age of Henry Cavill many are speculating that was reason enough to go for a younger Luthor as well. Jesse Eisenberg is in Cavill's age bracket and has somewhat proven himself to be cunning and scheming on screen. I am betting his roles in The Social Network and Now You See Me are the only reason he was even considered.
As for Jeremy Irons, director Zack Snyder explained the reasoning for getting an older actor is due to the fact that this is not a Batman origins story. At this point, Bruce Wayne is a seasoned veteran and is older so it makes sense to have his butler be older, too.


So what do you guys make of this? So far all I have seen online is my same reaction of laughter at seeing Eisenberg's picture next to Lex Luthor. I definitely did not see this one coming.

The untitled Batman vs. Superman project is slated to hit theaters on May 6, 2016.

Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg reunite for American Ultra

Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg are set to reunite on screen for the new action-comedy, American Ultra, to be directed by Nima Nourizadeh (Project X). The pair previously co-starred in the 2009 comedy, Adventureland. Production is set to begin in April 2014.
American Ultra tells the story of a stoner named Mike (Eisenberg) who is living in a small town with his girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart). One night Mike's past comes back to haunt him as a government operation targets to wipe him out.


In a way this is exciting because I really love Adventureland. It is literally one of my favorite movies and I think Stewart and Eisenberg have great chemistry. However, the prolonged typecasting of Jesse Eisenberg continues and it's ridiculous. He almost always plays a stoner or a virgin or a whimp or all of them. But even with that said, I will probably see this for the sheer fact that I liked Project X.