Looking back at the short-lived Snyderverse vision of the DCEU, which began in “Man of Steel” and ran until “Justice League” (though there are legions of fans that would argue that the team-up film shouldn’t be considered an honest to goodness Zack Snyder film), there’s a lot that people will criticize. The films are definitely dark (both figuratively and literally) and there are definitely some, uh, interesting choices made by the filmmaker and his cast. Perhaps the most interesting is Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor.
Eisenberg was clearly influenced by some of the more eccentric billionaires of our time, including his “Social Network” inspiration Mark Zuckerberg, as well as some other names that are hinted at but never confirmed (including perhaps writer Max Landis). Long story short, Eisenberg’s Luthor character is strange and unique and definitely different than how we’ve seen the character presented in previous films and comic books. But according to a new interview, even though his Luthor might not have been universally beloved, Eisenberg would love to jump back into the DC film universe.
Speaking to Comicbook.com, the actor was asked about the idea of coming back to the DCEU, and Eisenberg was quick to explain why he would like to come back and why playing a villain is way better than a superhero role.
“Oh yeah, I would very much like to because it’s such a cool character,” Eisenberg said. “Playing a villain in a superhero movie is the fun part. The good guys are fine, but the villains are the fun part because they get to be a little bit more flamboyant. Of course, the hero gets to, you know, survive. But, the villain has all the funny lines. I don’t know about the first part, but the second part is something that I could definitely be involved in, sure.”
We’ve heard this quite a bit with big actors that find themselves in villainous roles in superhero films, especially in recent years. Jake Gyllenhaal clearly had a blast as the over-the-top Mysterio in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Cate Blanchett is even more of a goddess in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Let’s not forget Michael B. Jordan outshining the lead in “Black Panther.” And we fully expect Christian Bale to devour the scenery as the villain in “Thor: Love & Thunder.”
And while not many people look back as fondly on Eisenberg’s Luthor, there is still the opportunity for the actor to really come into his own and become the villain we all hope he could be. Given the right filmmaker, Eisenberg could honestly be great in the role. So, why not?
In the meantime, you can watch Eisenberg’s more interesting moments as Luthor below: