Jesse Eisenberg on Lex Luthor, Depth of ‘Dawn of Justice’

by John Hagmann
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In an interview with the Observer, Jesse Eisenberg had a lot to say about his character in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Oscar-nominated actor portrays Lex Luthor in the upcoming film and commented on what attracted him to the role. “A lot of great actors are doing comic book adaptations,” he said, “but that’s because those movies have become so good… In a lot of ways [Lex] Luthor is more of a stretch than any character you would do in an independent movie, which is normally the place you stretch. So in that way it was not at all compromised. If anything it was the best, most advantageous role I’ve ever been given.”

That’s high praise of a role coming from an accomplished actor such as Eisenberg. Obviously, a movie of such scale would be a huge opportunity for any actor. Exposure alone would propel a career nicely. However, Eisenberg’s interest is more about the character than career development. “The opportunity to do an interesting character on a movie of that scale is incredibly rare… The character is written by the phenomenal writer [and Argo Oscar winner] Chris Terrio. His background is not in comic books so he was coming at it from emotion and story and created this really wonderful character, as enigmatic as he is emotionally honest.”

This description of Lex Luthor’s upcoming character in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is incredibly interesting. An “emotionally honest” Luthor could add great depth to the story of the film. Could Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor steal the show like Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight?

Lex        heathledgerjoker

Eisenberg remarked, “Now people expect the tone to be more realistic just because we live in a world where the average audience member has a sense of psychological motivations… [It raises the question] how can one man—Superman—have so much power? These are the kind of things that we talk about when we think about authoritarian states, when we talk about Vladimir Putin having a strong foothold in Eastern Europe. They’re addressing geopolitics in this movie and not in a way that’s pretentious or esoteric.”

This comment is of little surprise to fans of Frank Miller’s seminal work, The Dark Knight Returns, which is rumored to provide much of the source material for Dawn of Justice. Miller’s mini-series reflects the geopolitical context of the Cold War era – and the United States’ use of Superman as the ultimate weapon against her Soviet foes.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is set for a March 25, 2016 release. It’s shaping up to be an epic film, with action and drama, paired with depth and tone. Villains make or break movies — and Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor could be a determinative factor in the longevity of Batman v. Superman‘s influence on future DC films.

 

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