Another completely unexpected reveal from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came this morning, with the first official image of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor from EW. The actor and studio had been trying to keep the fact that Eisenberg had shaved his head a secret, with the actor appearing to be donning some pretty bad wigs when appearing in public, but now they’re letting the bald flag fly and he looks pretty darn good.
Check out the first official Jesse Eisenberg Lex Luthor photo below:
If you want to read way too much into this image, the stark black and white contrast and icy look of the actor definitely convey cold, calculating intelligence. Eisenberg looks better with a shorn dome than I expected, as well. Let’s see how Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice director Zack Snyder explains the character in the film:
“He’s not any of the Lexes that you’ve seen, that’s for sure, other than him being a captain of industry and one person to the world and another person to himself. And bald, of course.”
Thank you Zack, especially for the last little golden nugget of insight. Let’s see if he can redeem himself here with a better quote:
“Our Lex is disarming and he’s not fake. He says what he believes and he says what’s on his mind. If you can unravel the string and decipher what he means, it’s all there.”
I can’t help but feel he’s cryptically teasing something with that last line, but I honestly have no idea what exactly he might be referencing. Either way, I’m extremely on board with Eisenberg in the role (you can read my initial reaction to the casting here) and think this picture is just another step towards having audiences be completely surprised and blown away by his portrayal, in a similar fashion to the other seemingly off (but actually brilliant) villain castings such as Heath Ledger as The Joker.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will hit theaters on March 25, 2016.
batman v superman: dawn jesse eisenberg lex luthor zack snyder