We are just a day away from the release of the first “Superman” trailer from James Gunn’s rebooted DCU. But before we get there, it’s time to take a moment to remember what came before. No, not Christopher Reeve’s wonderful films. We’re talking ‘Batman v. Superman.’ Apparently, Jesse Eisenberg has some regrets about that film.
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In a recent interview on “Armchair Expert,” Jesse Eisenberg talked about the negative effect playing Lex Luthor in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” had on his career. According to the actor, it’s the first time he experienced very real career blowback from a role.
“I was in this ‘Batman’ movie and the ‘Batman’ movie was so poorly received, and I was so poorly received,” said Eisenberg. “I’ve never said this before and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way, because I was poorly received in something so public. I’ve been in poorly received things that just don’t see the light of day, and for the most part, no one knows, but this was so public, and I don’t read notices or reviews or movie press or anything, so I was unaware of how poorly it was received.”
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For those who don’t remember, at the time of release, Eisenberg’s version of Lex Luthor was polarizing, to say the least. It felt like he was playing a more maniacal version of Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network.” Everything about the role just didn’t seem to work. Not only that, but the entire film was largely poorly received by critics, even though there is a very loyal fanbase to this day.
As Eisenberg explained, since this was the biggest project of his career, in terms of franchise filmmaking and sheer budget, the fact that his performance was criticized wasn’t good for his own career trajectory.
Thankfully, it appears the actor-filmmaker has recovered from that damage just fine. His newest project, “A Real Pain,” is likely going to be an awards season contender.
You can watch the full interview below:
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