“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has taken over the geek-o-sphere in every way, becoming the highest grossing film of all time domestically this week. But in less than three months, “Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice” may turn the movie-world focus back to superhero movies.
As the film looms closer, the cast and crew have slowly revealed more secrets. In a recent LA Times interview with Jesse Eisenberg and director Zack Snyder, the filmmaker revealed that the actor originally turned down another, unknown role before he signed on to become Lex Luthor. What character? Snyder won’t say, but he gave a hint.
“Let’s call it a secret, but nevertheless it was the exact opposite of Lex Luthor,” the filmmaker said. Apparently, after Eisenberg declined the unknown role, Snyder went back and offered him something “cooler” — the part of Lex Luthor. Well, the exact opposite is a hero or non-bad guy, so we speculate it could have been either Jimmy Olsen or The Flash, but who knows. What is clear is that Eisenberg is trying to reinvent the character from past iterations.
“When you’re doing a movie like this and playing a character that’s already been played, the further away it is from those previous incarnations the better,” Eisenberg said. “Because chances are, especially with a guy like Gene Hackman or Kevin Spacey, you’re not going to get favorably compared.”
Also, while all the trailers so far have shown Lex Luthor with hair, the young actor says, be patient, you’ll see a chrome-dome Luthor in the film eventually. “When you see the movie, you’ll see. It’s the greatest scene that I’ve ever gotten to take part in — it accounts for the change in hair.”
Snyder calls the character “super scary,” and Eisenberg added, “To call him self-aggrandizing is to say that the Titanic was a sailboat. He is a narcissist of the first order but complicated in that way as well in that he is terribly troubled and competitive and vengeful. He looks at Superman not as somebody to destroy but as genuine threat to humanity.” And note, the LA Times says Eisenberg recently shot some viral footage to promote ‘Dawn Of Justice,’ all centering on Luthor being a cultural Mark Zuckerberg-ian influencer and disruptor.
Meanwhile, a note to all the “scoopers” who like to reveal every plot and scene from every anticipated super hero movie: Zack Snyder doesn’t like it. In a recent MTV interview the filmmaker lamented the prevalence of spoiler culture.
“Of course I hate it when any spoilers come out!” Snyder said. “You design the movie as a story that evolves as you watch it, so moment-to-moment [you’re thinking], ‘Oh my god, what’s going to happen next? Are they gonna live? Are they gonna die?’ So you want that experience for the audience, as much as you can.”
I don’t suspect spoiler culture is going to listen anytime soon, especially on knowing the line on what’s too much of a spoiler, but that’s the world we live in. Lastly, a much, much longer synopsis for ‘Dawn Of Justice’ has been released, and you can see that below as well as a new shot of Eisenberg as Luthor on the cover of WIRED — presumably a fake item meant to convey how iconic and influential the Luthor character is in that world.
Following his titanic struggle against General Zod, Metropolis has been razed to the ground and Superman is the most controversial figure in the world. While for many he is still an emblem of hope, a growing number of people consider him a threat to humanity, seeking justice for the chaos he has brought to Earth.
As far as Bruce Wayne is concerned, Superman is clearly a danger to society. He fears for the future of the world with such a reckless power left ungoverned, and so he dons his mask and cape to right Superman’s wrongs. The rivalry between them is furious, fueled by bitterness and vengeance, and nothing can dissuade them from waging this war. However, a dark new threat arises in the form of a third man: one who has a power greater than either of them to endanger the world and cause total destruction.
The superhero stand-off that the world has been waiting for is finally arriving in cinemas, with an all-star cast bringing to life the characters we all love. Zack Snyder (300) returns as director following the huge success of 2013’s Man of Steel, along with Henry Cavill (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) in the role of Superman. Also starring Ben Affleck (Gone Girl) as Batman, Amy Adams (American Hustle) as Lois Lane, and Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious 7) as Wonder Woman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an explosive, action-packed blockbuster that is sure to thrill DC fans everywhere.
“Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice” opens on March 25th.
Special January issue of #wired here at #ces2016 #batmanvsuperman
A photo posted by Cheryl Vuong (@cherylvuong) on
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