We’ve all known for a few months now that Superman’s primary villain, the brilliant and charismatic Lex Luthor, would be played in the untitled Man of Steel sequel by Jesse Eisenberg. A somewhat beguiling casting choice for many comic fans. Eisenberg, at age 30, won’t be the first young incarnation of the character (that distinction goes to Michael Rosenbaum, who played the character in nine out of the ten seasons of Smallville), but, at least according to Eisenberg, he may be the most different.
In a recent interview with IGN, Eisenberg claimed that his portrayal will not be a reflection of those which came before. “It will definitely be played by a different person,” the actor says. “I don’t know the history as well as the people making the movie, so I guess it’s up to them to figure out how much they want to separate it from previous incarnations. But I will treat it like it’s its own role.” He then added, “There’s no way to play the history of the character played by other people, unless you do some kind of wink, but that doesn’t seem like a responsible way to act.”
So what does this mean? Honestly, I think it’s too early to tell. Lex Luthor is among a small elite group of supervillains whose names and motivations are known to everyone, even non-comic readers. It sounds as though they will be reinventing the character, which definitely goes in line with the reinvention of the Superman mythos in Man of Steel. So will we see a less villainous, less mustache-twirling Lex Luthor; a more diabolical, youthful, sociopathic Lex Luthor; or something else altogether? At this point, it’s much too early to tell. As a big fan of the character (I’m a Batman fanboy, but Lex Luthor places just ahead of the Joker for favorite villain), I’m choosing to be cautiously optimistic. Man of Steel didn’t disappoint, so I have yet to be given any reason to believe its sequel will do anything but surpass it.
The Man of Steel sequel, so far dubbed Batman/Superman by fans, is due to hit theaters 16 May 2016.
Source: Business Insider
