This weekend, the production team of "Batman vs. Superman" made an announcement that has created just as much uproar as the summer casting of Ben Affleck as Batman: Jesse Eisenberg will play Lex Luthor in the upcoming movie.
The news was met with resistance and some questioning the quality of the film.
"I'm trying my best to be optimistic and shit, but Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? I JUST CANT SEE IT," wrote @marcusprolifik on Twitter.
"Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they cast Justin Bieber as Robin (SIC)," wrote @jingolfs85.
Obviously, this decision was not made without serious consideration as it seems that Joaquin Phoenix and Adam Driver were also considered for the role. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that there is in fact a major reason for the younger villain.
"The new Lex will skew much younger than 'Superman Returns'' Kevin Spacey (46 at the time) and 'Superman's' Gene Hackman (48) but will be more in line with several recent graphic-novel and TV incarnations, in which he is a childhood friend of the young Man of Steel," said the report.
It will be interesting to see how this ultimately plays out as the reboot film "Man of Steel" did not highlight any of the children in Superman's youth. It will also be interesting to see if Eisenberg's previous performance as Mark Zuckerberg has any influence on this representation of Luthor. One could venture to guess that this modern take on the villain may emphasize the young entrepreneurial genius that manages to accumulate great wealth via control of modern technology.
Are you happy with the casting of Eisenberg?