When Warner Brothers released the third Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer in December, it brought some clarity to how Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, The End of the Tour) approached the villainous role of Lex Luthor, though, director Zack Snyder assured worrisome fans that Lex is a “million times more sophisticated” than what we saw.
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Interestingly, Snyder first approached Eisenberg about playing another role, although, he’s keeping mum on which part Jesse initially passed on. “Let’s call it a secret, but nevertheless it was the exact opposite of Lex Luthor,” Snyder told the L.A. Times.
Opposite of Luthor? Hmm… Well, that means it has to be a good guy (How’d you come up with that Einstein!). We can probably eliminate Batman, Cyborg and Aquaman, right off the bat. If it was a superhero role he turned down, maybe, …The Flash? The part went to Ezra Miller who does share some similarities with Eisenberg: wiry frame and nerdish charm.
However, I don’t truly believe Eisenberg was up for any superhero role. My best guess is that he was offered the role Scoot McNairy (Argo, Gone Girl) took, which is rumored to be a wheelchair-bound Jimmy Olsen.
“I feel like once [Eisenberg] found out who Lex was he embraced it,” Snyder said. “Once you kind of start digging into Lex, it’s a bit of a scary thing to be that guy. I don’t think he just goes ‘Oh, I’ll just be that guy and then when I go home I’m not him.’ I think the thing with Jessie is he wasn’t immune to the reality of playing a super-scary character.”
In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25, 2016.
