Batman v Superman Star Jesse Eisenberg Addresses If Lex Luthor Could Return

The DCEU is filled with memorable characters, and one of them is Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor. 

Eisenberg's DC villain was first introduced during 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice where he orchestrated his grand plan to pit the two founding members of the Justice League against one another. Lex almost succeeded in his plan, but he was ultimately thwarted when the two heroes decided to work together instead. 

Eisenberg returned during the mid-credits scenes of the Justice League theatrical cut, setting up the debut of an Injustice League of villains while recruiting Deathstroke as its first member. Zack Snyder's Justice League, meanwhile, featured a different version of the scene where Luthor revealed Batman's identity to Slade Wilson. 

Since then, though, the character's future has been unknown. 

While Eisenberg's performance as Luthor received a mixed reception from fans and critics alike, many would agree that the villain is an integral part of the franchise, mainly due to the fact that he is somehow the reason why Superman died at the hands of Doomsday. 

Now, the actor has addressed whether fans will see the Superman villain once more in the DCEU. 

Jesse Eisenberg Responds to Lex Luthor Comeback

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Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed the DCEU's Lex Luthor, sat down with Comic Book Movie to talk about the chances for a potential comeback to the superhero franchise. 

The Batman v Superman actor admitted that he has no idea if he will return to portray the iconic Man of Steel villain, but he did tease that he "would love" to play the character again if given a chance: 

"Umm… I’m probably the last person to know the answer to that question because I don’t know how they make those decisions. You know, my background is in theatre where you do a play 200 times and you feel like you’re just getting the hang of it by the last performance. I would love to play any character again. After a movie ends, the actors usually turn to each other and say, ‘Oh, now I finally know what I’m doing and I understand what my purpose [was].' Actors, in my experience, do like playing roles again but that particular one is just not up to me. I’m sure I could do a one-man show somewhere but no one would, you know…"

When asked if Zack Snyder's Justice League ending was setting up big plans for his character for the now-scrapped The Batman starring Ben Affleck, Eisenberg pointed out that he "didn't know" about it: 

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, of course. Also, if there were [plans], I didn’t know about them. Otherwise, I’d have some great material, but I didn’t know about it!"

Could Lex Luthor Make a Comeback? 

Jesse Eisenberg's comments suggest that a Lex Luthor return is not on the table at this stage, but it seems that he would be open to making a comeback if given the green light by Warner Bros. This was further amplified by the actor's remarks in an interview back in 2020, with him expressing interest to reprise his DC role: 

"Oh yeah, I would love to because it’s such a cool character. To play a villain in a superhero movie is the fun part. The good guys are fine but the villain is the fun part cause you get to be more flamboyant. The hero usually gets to survive but the villain has all the funny lines.”

Right now, the current interconnected aspect of the DCEU is unknown, especially after the debut of Zack Snyder's Justice League. While Ezra Miller's The Flash is expected to address this confusion, there's a strong chance that the franchise will showcase a full-blown multiverse when it's all said and done. 

If this eventually happens, this would allow characters like Eisenberg's Lex Luthor to return to a future DC project. It remains to be seen if a sequel to the Snyder Cut will be unveiled, but many would agree that this film would be a great opportunity for Lex to finish his arc. 

Moreover, given that The Flash is still technically part of the Snyderverse pre-Flashpoint shenanigans, it's possible that Eisenberg will return for a potential cameo as Ben Affleck's Batman is already making a comeback in the film. 

For now, fans can catch Jesse Eisenberg's performance as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max.