As time has gone on, things have proven to us that history has a tendency to repeat itself, and just today, the many fan boys and girls of the internet have proven that exact theory. Thus far, we've seen similar reactions for just about every casting announcement for Zack Snyder's upcoming Batman Vs. Superman film. Fans went crazy when Ben Affleck was cast as our new Batman, they questioned the sanity of Snyder when he cast Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and today they have their pitchforks sharpened as we have confirmation that Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Superman's famed arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons has been cast as Bruce Wayne's right hand man and trust butler Alfred Pennyworth.
So I guess we'll start things off with the less controversial (Or surprising news) bit of news, which is that of Jeremy Irons (
The Borgias) as Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth. It seems Snyder decided to give in to the general fan favorite with this pick, probably because he knew the Eisenberg/Luthor casting was gonna brew up some fan riots, but that surely doesn't distract from the brilliance of this casting decision. While we were never quite sure if Alfred would be a supporting player in
Batman Vs. Superman, it's nice to see that we'll be already getting a taste of the new
Batman universe in the film, as well as making the possibility of a few scenes in Gotham seem all the more likely.
Now while Jeremy Irons as Alfred seems to be going down well with the fans, Jesse Eisenberg's casting hasn't exactly garnered the same reaction. Originally people wanted Bryan Cranston to be Lex Luthor due to the fact that he does resemble Lex Luthor, has the body physique, and based upon his role in
Breaking Bad, could portray not only a menacing super villain, but he also displayed the ability to be a sympathetic character. But recent rumors had suggested that other actors were being looked at for the part including Denzel Washington (
Flight), Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (
Fast and Furious 6), Idris Elba (
Pacific Rim), and most recently Joaquin Phoenix (
Her), who rumors suggested was all but locked in to play Lex. So much for that.
Now while there's obvious concern over Eisenberg's age and overall resemblance to the character of Luthor, there's no denying that the man is talented. While audiences originally wrote him off as just another Michael Cera-esque socially awkward comedian, Eisenberg wowed critics, movie goers, and even the academy with his turn as
Facebook inventor Mark Zuckerberg in
The Social Network. Taking into account that Lex Luthor is more of the genius mastermind rather than the actual physical threat of most of schemes, fans shouldn't be too concerned about Eisenberg's overall physicality in comparison to Cavill and Affleck. With Eisenberg as Lex, we can now expect Snyder to cast a much more physical villain that'll do Luthor's dirty work for him. I'm still putting my money on Metallo. So will Eisenberg prove to be the new and fresh Lex Luthor we've been waiting to see on the big screen? I guess only time will tell.
So how do you feel about Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons as Alfred? Are there any other actors you would've preferred to see in the roles? Let us know below!
