Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and later with Deadline to clarify a few things, Jesse Eisenberg has spoken about his Lex Luthor from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. It was an odd interpretation that was not met positively when the film was released in 2016. When looking at whether he would reprise the role, he is not confident that it would happen and that he would be “shocked” if he got the opportunity.
“I’d be shocked if I wound up in a DC movie, but it would be a pleasant shock,” he said.
To the crowd at the film festival, Jesse Eisenberg detailed the process of becoming Lex Luthor. This went into the working with writer Chris Terrio and his acting coach to deliver the proper performance. He acknowledged that all this work led to an end result that people hated.
“The writer, Chris Terrio, is a very serious writer, and he’s a very emotional person,” he said. “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.”
Jesse Eisenberg would be “shocked” if he returned to DC as Lex Luthor
When it comes to the possibility of a superhero movie, Jesse Eisenberg is not opposed to it. He went on about how he is not a fan of the genre or a comic book reader, but he enjoyed his time making Zack Snyder’s film.
“Yeah. Because 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.”
The shift of the DCEU puts anything to question from its direction to who will be taking up roles like Superman and Lex Luthor, as it looks like Jesse Eisenberg and Henry Cavill will likely not return to their respective roles. With the change of leadership, Warner Bros. is reportedly hunting for its own Kevin Feige to lead a decade-long plan to have a story like what Marvel did with the Infinity Saga.
While we wait to see what the future could hold for Jesse Eisenberg in the superhero genre, there are plenty of shows and movies to look forward to. DC will be releasing Black Adam in October with Shazam! Fury of the Gods following it in December.