Over time, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has proven itself a divisive movie among DC fandom. Particularly thanks to the extended cut, it has its passionate defenders. It also, however, spawned some very visceral rejections for some plot points. Like the “Martha” moment, and Jesse Eisenberg‘s very different, Mark Zuckerberg-ish portrayal of Lex Luthor than most casual fans were used to. Really, he was playing more of the younger Alexander Luthor from the comics, rather than the cold, bald-headed mastermind Lex who’s most commonly depicted. Speaking with Deadline today, Eisenberg talks about the response, and possibilities for the character’s future.
“I felt very personal about it,” he said. “The writer, Chris Terrio, is a very serious writer, and he’s a very emotional person. He thought a lot about my character, and I thought a lot about my character too. I talked with my acting coach about the character a lot, about his backstory with his father and his emotional life—and then people hate me.”
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Not being a comics reader, Eisenberg had no preconceived notions of the character prior to reading the script. “To me, it was not playing a role that I’d envisioned since childhood,” he says. “To me, it was a chance to play this great character that this great writer wrote, and I loved doing that. So, to play it is a joy, and to not play it isn’t something that I’m going to be ashamed to tell my kids about, because that is not an important genre in my life, even though I loved doing that movie.” As for any possible return to the character, he seems up for it, adding, “I’d be shocked if I wound up in a DC movie, but it would be a pleasant shock.”
But even though he’s not a comics guy, he’d never rule out more comics-based stuff. He notes that “as an actor, you do all kinds of different things, and sometimes great roles show up in really commercial things and sometimes terrible roles show up in independent films.”
What did you think of Eisenberg’s Luthor? Would you want to see him again in that role, or possibly even a different comics-based role? Let us know in comments!
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