There's a reason why Lex Luthor is one of the most fascinating villains in comic book history, and it's not because he's bald and wears a big green exo-suit. It has to do with him being a regular guy, albeit brilliant and crazy wealthy, who believes Superman is a threat to humanity's existence due to his incredible powers. And many in the world agree with him, making Luthor less like a villain and more like a crusader. At least those are the most interesting interpretations of the character, anyway, and that seems to be the version we'll get in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg.
Jesse Eisenberg spoke to MTV about his take on Luthor, and how it differs from some of the sillier versions we've seen on screen previously....
"There's an emotional core to character. It's not a silly villainous character," he told MTV. "...it is an entirely different thing. Also, the tone of that ['Superman'] movie is so different, like that movie wouldn't be made now. Like the way we expect movies to be now is to have some kind of — I mean, it's probably for the best — there's some kind of psychological accuracy. That the person is coming from a place probably diagnosable in some way."
Not that we should be surprised this Luthor will have some psychological complexity since Eisenberg has gotten really good at playing complicated characters. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25th 2016, and Warner Bros. will be bringing the film and Eisenberg to Comic-Con next month.
