Early projections coming out of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are saying that one of the best characters in the film is Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Lex Luthor. In some instances, he has been reported to be better than Ben Affleck's Batman. What makes Lex tick?
Reactions to his appearance in the trailers was mixed at best, but the news coming from screenings is that Eisenberg shines at the role, even stealing the spotlight from his costars.
Recently, Eisenberg sat down with Playboy to talk about what makes Luthor tick, and how his portrayal of the character is directed to the way that a super-villain would be in todays society. Eisenberg says, "The character is in line with what audiences want to see now, which is a more modern, psychologically realistic concept of Lex Luthor. His motivations are multifaceted; he has a way of using language that's specific to the way his mind works; he struggles with interesting philosophical dilemmas like that of the individual having too much power, even if that individual is using that power for good. For instance, Superman has so far been using his powers to do some good, but is it safe to have someone like that walking the streets? It's great that all of this happens in the context of a very exciting superhero movie."
The motivations of this villain seem true to present day worries of everyday citizens rather than the comic version of the character. This is good news, because it allows DC's cinematic universe the realism that it needs to maintain its stance in the real world setting that the studio is striving for. This is good news for Batman v Superman.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25, 2016.
