Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred; The World is What It Is
Breaking news in the world of superhero movie casting: Warner Bros. announced today that Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons will be Alfred in the upcoming Superman vs. Batman movie. This is the kind of news that’s going to send fanboys foaming at the mouth. And after casting Ben Affleck as Batman, the fanboys are already up in arms about this flick.
Personally? I’m cool with it.
Eisenberg, of course, famously playing Mark Zuckerberg in that Facebook movie, whose name escapes me. But he was awesome in that film, and how much you want to bet that performance is what landed him the role of Lex Luthor? He’s going to be a young, smarmy, too-smart-for-his-own-good sort of Luthor. I’ll grant you, he doesn’t really give Luthor any gravitas, and Eisenberg probably isn’t very imposing, but so what? I think it’s easy to see what the studio is going for here, and I think they can make it work.
Though he’ll probably look like a twerp bald.
Speaking of bald.
Of course, Jeremy Irons is Jeremy Irons. No explanation necessary. He’ll probably do as good a job as anybody.
Here’s what Director Zack Snyder said today, officially:
“Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.” The director added, “As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious façade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne.”
I’m down with both of these casting decisions. Bring’em on.
Now hurry up and cast Dick Grayson already!
Posted on January 31, 2014, in Batman, DC, Movies, Superman and tagged Alfred, Batman/Superman, Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg, Lex Luthor, Man of Steel, Man of Steel 2. Bookmark the permalink. 21 Comments.
Henchman-4-Hire 
I’m cool with Irons as Alfred, but Eisenberg as Luthor? That is a terrible idea! I loved him in The Social Network and also in Adventureland, but I think he is way too young to play Luthor.
I’m finding the difference between Marvel casting and DC casting to be so entertainingly weird. When Marvel announces a new casting, like Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, it just sounds perfect. When DC announces a new casting, it’s the weirdest choice imaginable.
Now that Justin Bieber as Robin hoax doesn’t sound so unbelievable…
If that happened, that would be it for me. Seriously, I would be done with this movie.
Would he even be able to? I thought the US deported him. And then Canada threw him in prison.
Celebrities can do anything.
I don’t like Irons very much, I think the only thing I’ve actually abided him in is Die Hard 3, but him as Alfred seems like a not-bad idea. Eisenberg I’ve liked in a few things, I think he’ll be interesting as Luthor. A few things about that, there’s no reason he has to be bald, Luthor always started out with hair, and he shouldn’t be played old enough that he’d have to have lost all his hair by the time of the movie. Eisenberg’s also about Cavill’s age, and Supes and Luthor have been contemporaries a few times before.
It is weird to think that he and Cavill are the same age…30…which is my age. And while they’re starring as Superman and Lex LUthor in movies, I’m sitting in my sweatpants blogging about it…Hold on, my Pizza Bites are done.
Wow. You’re all old. I figured that for them, but not actually sure how old I thought you’d be.
Thanks. Yes. I’m old.
For a couple of seconds there I misread the title and thought that it meant “Heisenberg as Lex Luthor” and I was like “F#ck yeah, the rumors where true, Bryan Cranston is going to be awesome as Luthor” then I read the article and now I’m a sad panda.
Irons could make a good Alfred though.
I like that joke around the Internet. Everybody who was spreading the Bryan Cranston rumors online must have misheard ‘Eisenberg’ as ‘Heisenberg’.
Isn’t Heisenberg a dead German physicist? How is he related to Brian Cranston? However, I totally agree that Hal would make a great Luthor, if they were going for that age range.
Ah, you must not have seen Breaking Bad. ‘Heisenberg’ was the name of Cranston’s famous character on that show.
Hey, totally unrelated, but are you aware that Roy Harper is now officially’s Oliver’s sidekick in “Arrow?!”
Ah, yes. Arrow. The only good thing DC is doing in live-action.
I haven’t seen this week’s episode yet! Though I won’t be completely satisfied until he’s wearing his own red hood and shooting arrows too, not just super-powered and training with Greeny.
Ok, let me just say this. I want to like this movie. I really, really do. I want to be good. But every bit of news that comes out about just makes me think that’s impossible. I didn’t like Batffleck, but I very grudgingly accepted it. I was kind of neutral in regards to Gadot, since I don’t really know her as an actress and I believe that she can become phisically fit for the part. But this is just too much. I would love to understand what’s going on through these people’s minds because, to be perfectly honest, I have no clue. I just don’t understand what they are trying to do here. One more announcement like this and I might just give up on this.
I think they’re trying new ideas. They don’t want to just recreate the comic book versions of these characters. They want to try something new and different and memorable. At least that’s my idea. They may also like the fanboy rage.
I agree they are trying to do new things……like have Superman break a bad guys neck to save 4 people while, not 10 minutes earlier, he was laying waste to cities and killing god knows how many people in the process. Or have Clark’s dad basically tell him that it’s okay to let a bus full of little children die, as long as no one suspects he is different.
For the record I was never much of a Superman fan, I was always in the Batman corner, but even I was angry at all that. And my mother, who is a HUUUUUGE Superman fan was seriously disappointed too, so it not just me.I really can’t get why DC seems bound and determined to rush headlong into stupidity. I get that they feel the pressure to catch up with Marvel, but they seem to be missing the true genius of what made the marvel cinematic universe work. Which is to take their time. To layer in little things that connect the stories, and above all else, give the fans the performances and actors they want.
You’re entirely right. Just look at the entirety of the Green Lantern movie. Something at DC or Warner Bros. just isn’t clicking.
Despite people complain about casting, they’e gonna watch this movie anyway.