You know, I was one of the first to actually defend Jesse Eisenberg‘s initial casting in BATMAN V SUPERMAN. I felt we needed a younger Lex, and that with roles like THE SOCIAL NETWORK, Eisenberg showed that he could be cold and calculating, and in other roles that he can be likable and affable – two sides that an actor needs to pull off to be Lex. But his performance turned out to be one of the worst things in an already terrible film…though there were signs of greatness. He did show those calculating sides in brief scenes, and the concept behind his Max Landis-esque “public” persona made sense. It was just his preening and weird ticks that felt too manic for Lex, and more like a low-rent Riddler.
However, I blame that more on the script and director than Eisenberg himself. Which is why – with him finally being bald and perhaps more conniving due to incarceration – would finally give us a more comic-accurate Lex portrayal in JUSTICE LEAGUE. So it’s a little disappointing to see that we won’t get that chance, as Batman News is saying they have sources confirming that Lex Luthor isn’t in the current cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE:
To be fair, this makes sense. There is so much that JUSTICE LEAGUE has to set up (especially since, unlike Marvel, they have to introduce the origins and arcs of three completely new heroes rather than us knowing them from the start). Hopefully we’ll get a MAN OF STEEL 2 and see Lex again the way he should be.
Meanwhile JUSTICE LEAGUE will hit theaters November 17th.