‘Batman vs. Superman’ Star Jesse Eisenberg Says His Lex Luthor Has Psychological Problems

We haven’t heard much about what Superman mega-villain Lex Luthor will be like in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Rumor has it that Batman will connect with Luthor in his quest to battle Superman, but — aside from the fact that Luthor will be bald — that’s about all we know so far. Jesse Eisenberg has opened up a bit about what we can expect from the character, and promises that his version will not be silly. So that’s good, right?

In a new interview with MTV, Eisenberg explains what makes this version of Luthor different from Gene Hackman’s portrayal in the ‘80s and Kevin Spacey’s version in the 2006 film. Basically, what it boils down to is psychology — this version of Luthor has some mental issues, but Eisenberg also explains that his motives, while awful, are kind of understandable. He’s a real person, and, as Eisenberg says, not a “silly villain”:

There’s an emotional core to character. It’s not a silly villainous character … it is an entirely different thing. Also, the tone of that [Superman] movie is so different, like that movie wouldn’t be made now. Like the way we expect movies to be now is to have some kind of — I mean, it’s probably for the best — there’s some kind of psychological accuracy. That the person is coming from a place probably diagnosable in some way.

You can hear more about Eisenberg’s version of Luthor in the interview above. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25, 2016.

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