When Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel (perhaps it’s actually a spinoff at this point considering how many new characters there are) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, there was a lot of head scratching.  But I actually can totally see him in the role.  Leaving aside the completely arbitrary question of whether the character will have hair or not, Eisenberg has an intelligence that reads well onscreen not to mention the fact that he can really play entitled and angry.  Eisenberg recently spoke about the film and, while he couldn’t say much, what he did say makes me more confident than ever that he’s the right choice for the role.  In fact, I think his casting could potentially be the most interesting thing about the movie.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is currently filming in Detroit under the direction of Zack Snyder for a March 2016 release.  The film also stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams and Jason Momoa.  Hit the jump to see what Eisenberg has to say about playing Lex Luthor.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Eisenberg told Total Film (with some quotes via CBM) that the psychology of the character attracted him:

"There are some indications of how the character should behave based on the script, and then as actor makes it his or her own.  I got to know one of the writers, Chris Terrio, and we were able to discuss things at length and figure out who this person is to create a real psychology behind what is, perhaps, in a comic book, a less than totally modern psychology. I can only say I've been asked to play an interesting role. A complicated, challenging person."

He also apparently hasn't seen many other comic book movies, not even The Dark Knight.  Though in researching this particular part he did watch "that movie with Gene Hackman," which kind of made me respect him more since it's rare that an actor of his age isn't utterly plugged into these movies on some sort of career-aspiration level.  Still, he might be open to checking a few of them out if their level of craftsmanship is commensurate with the work being done on Batman v Superman:

"I realize how popular comic-book movies are, and now, working on one, I realise why they're popular - the story is really good, the dialogue is really good, the artistry behind every department is high, the acting is really good. So if they're all put together with that level of quality..."

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Eisenberg also discussed the somewhat backwards process of sniffing around one of these parts in a high security age where extreme measures are taken to prevent script leaks:

"They asked me if I wanted to play the part before they sent me the script. I'm not sure how it worked, but it's something I read with the understanding that I could do the role... You know, they don't just hand the scripts out. But I really liked it on its own terms. I would do it if it was for free and it was tiny."