In the present day noticed the long-awaited launch of the trailer for James Gunn‘s Superman, introducing everybody to David Corenswet‘s Superman, Rachel Brosnahan‘s Lois Lane, the perfect boy Krypto, and, in fact, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. It is the primary time many of those characters have been seen in live-action since Zack Snyder‘s Justice League, although for Hoult, it was an opportunity to right what many followers noticed as a giant mistake. The massive boss of Lex Corp was beforehand performed by Jesse Eisenberg starting in Batman v. Superman : Daybreak of Justice, and he wasn’t precisely properly obtained within the function. Whereas the movie itself was broadly eviscerated by critics and viewers alike, the Oscar nominee was singled out with particularly harsh criticism for a portrayal of the character that felt far off from how Luthor is usually portrayed.

In a latest interview on Armchair Professional with Dax Shepard, Eisenberg lastly opened up about how the unfavourable reception affected him after the movie. On the time of Batman v. Superman‘s launch, he was a staunch defender of his Luthor. Snyder’s imaginative and prescient was a youthful model of the long-lasting villain, albeit one with nonetheless loads of hatred in his coronary heart for Superman. Taking over a extra jittery, maniacal Lex, in Eisenberg’s eyes, was a boon that might assist make his iteration one of many extra memorable takes on the character. He is additionally talked about the “All-Star Superman” comics previously as inspiration.

Nevertheless, whereas he nonetheless appears again on the villainous function fondly, it did not do wonders for his profession. “I used to be on this Batman film and the Batman film was so poorly obtained, and I used to be so poorly obtained. I’ve by no means mentioned this earlier than, and it’s type of embarrassing to confess, however I genuinely suppose it really harm my profession in an actual means, as a result of I used to be poorly obtained in one thing so public,” he mentioned on the podcast. Getting panned for a poor efficiency in such a high-profile blockbuster, which, itself, was broadly panned regardless of a $874 million field workplace, stung excess of any of his different maligned performances, as he continued “I’ve been in poorly obtained issues that simply don’t see the sunshine of day, and for probably the most half, nobody is aware of. However this was so public, and I don’t learn notices or opinions or film press or something, so I used to be unaware of how poorly it was obtained.”

Jesse Eisenberg Is Nonetheless Thriving Regardless of ‘Batman v. Superman’

Such a reception within the greatest function of his profession to this point might have been devastating for Eisenberg, however issues have largely been trying up of late for the star. This yr noticed him direct and star in A Actual Ache, which is seen as a real awards season contender. On the horizon, he is additionally set to reappear as J. Daniel Atlas in Now You See Me 3. Filming has wrapped on the heist movie as of November and Eisenberg hasn’t contained his pleasure about what followers will quickly see. It is set to hit theaters subsequent yr on November 14.

As for Lex Luthor, there’s nonetheless a lot to be seen about how Hoult will deal with the character. The Nosferatu star is trying bald and delightful for the event, however appears aren’t all he has on his aspect. Gunn has beforehand referred to as this iteration considered one of his favourite characters in his new DCU with Peter Safran. Whereas talking at a panel hosted by Collider’s Steve Weintraub after the trailer’s debut, Hoult teased that his Lex shall be “sensible and ruthless,” to outmaneuver the Man of Metal, but in addition an comprehensible champion of kinds for humanity, saying:

“However there’s additionally one thing about this character, hopefully, from my standpoint, the place though you maybe don’t agree together with his course of, there’s a component the place you’ll be able to perceive, on some ranges, the place he’s coming from and why what he’s pushing as his ideology is, maybe, higher for humanity.”

Hoult’s Lex Luthor might be seen in Gunn’s Superman in theaters on July 11, 2025. Within the meantime, Eisenberg’s newest function, A Actual Ache, shall be obtainable for buy on digital platforms beginning on December 31 and bodily on February 4.