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.

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.

Joaquin Phoenix to be in Batman vs. Superman?

Rumor has it that Joaquin Phoenix is being sought after for a villain role in Batman vs. Superman. Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder are setting the bar pretty high by chasing another Oscar nominated actor for a lead antagonist role.

Now... along with this there is already a lot of speculation that Phoenix could be Lex Luthor. Just throwing that out there. Recently Jason Momoa and Callan Mulvey have been considered for antagonist roles, but apparently neither of them would be playing a major villain such as Luthor. The easter eggs in Man of Steel do suggest that Luthor is a part of this new DC Universe so this is very plausible. However, I don't know if I would necessarily pick Phoenix for Lex Luthor.
Even with that said, there is no guarantee that even if the offer is extended that he will bite. Phoenix has been more focused on character driven roles recently such as the roles in The Master and Her. He got an Oscar nomination for The Master and many are speculating that he could get another one for Her. Previously he's been nominated for Walk the Line and Gladiator. He has also been nominated for Golden Globes, BAFTA's, and even won a Grammy award. The point is, why would he consider starring in a comic book movie?

Money could play a factor and the mostly positive feedback from Man of Steel, but in the end I think this is a long shot. He's too high caliber for something like this, imo. Not to mention the fact that Warner Bros. doesn't know what the hell they're doing with this DC Universe.

What do you think? Is this your Lex Luthor?

[Rumor] Bryan Cranston cast as Lex Luthor

Rumor alert!

I saw this a while ago, but some sources are claiming that Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) has been cast as Lex Luthor for a minimum of six films including Batman vs. Superman. Apparently they are postponing the official press release to give Breaking Bad a time to wrap up and so they can ride the momentum of the finale.

If this is true, Cranston will join Henry Cavill and new cast member Ben Affleck. In addition to Cranston signing for six films with an extension to 10 possible, Affleck has reportedly signed on for 13 Batman appearances. The role of Lex Luthor was previously rumored to be leaning toward Mark Strong (Kick-Ass), but seeing that he already appeared as Sinestro in the box office disaster Green Lantern, DC and Warner Bros. wanted to take a different route.

Batman vs. Superman is the next installment to the DC Universe that will hit on July 17, 2015.