Jesse Eisenberg thinks that the reception of Batman v Superman has hurt his career, and he's speaking about it for the first time.
Every Superman has his Lex Luthor. That of Christopher Reeve had faced the version played by Gene Hackman in Superman (1978), Superman 2 (1980) et Superman 4 (1987). That of Brandon Routh had faced Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns (2006). And the next Supermanplayed by David Corenswet in the James Gunn film scheduled for release in theaters on July 9, 2025, will be confronted by Nicholas Hoult.
In 2015, it is Jesse Eisenberg who took on the role of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicedirected by Zack Snyder. After Man of Steel (2013), this clash of the titans was to open in a big way the doors of the DCEUthe DC Extended Universe with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash. And Lex Luthor should have occupied a central place, as teased in the post-credits scene of Justice League.
But things didn't go as planned. And after many problems and failures, the DCEU was officially buried in 2023at the end of a final catastrophic year (the failures of Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle et Aquaman 2). Perhaps this is what made Jesse Eisenberg want to talk again for the first time about the exit of Batman v Supermanand the consequences on his career.
THE BATMAN V SUPERMAN PROBLEM
In 2016, Batman v Superman had all the makings of a great box office success with nearly 875 million collectedwhich is much more than Man of Steel (670 million). But at this level of blockbuster, it's the context that counts. And that same year, Marvel was doing a lot more with his heroes meeting in Captain America : Civil War (1.1 billion).
Especially since Batman v Superman had a very large budget, estimated at minimum 250 million or even 300 million – potentially a little more than Civil War SO. Not to mention the marketing budget, at least 150 million. Faced with the MCU, the Warner Bros. studio. had stepped on the accelerator and quickly bet on a blockbuster bringing together their two DC superstars, and there is no doubt that someone hoped to hit the billionas with the Avengers.
Very mixed reception from the public and critics was the first nail in the coffin of this DCEU. Many people involved with the Expanded Universe have since confirmed that the studio tried to rectify the situation on the following filmshoping to please everyone. It is clear that it did not work.
EX LEX SPEAKS
Guest on the podcast Amrchair Expert in December 2024, Jesse Eisenberg returned to the release of BvSand he believes that it had a negative impact on his career:
“I was in this Batman movie and it was so poorly received, and I was so poorly received… I've never said it before, and it's a little embarrassing to admit it, but I think honestly that it really hurt my career in a way, because I was very poorly received in something very public. »
He explains that it's all a matter of perception in Hollywood:
« In the industry, if you're in a huge, huge movie and it's not seen as something good, the people who choose who's going to be in their movies afterward are just not going to select you. I've been in films that were poorly received, but never saw the light of day, and in most cases no one knows about them. But this was so public. I don't read reviews or anything, so I wasn't aware of how poorly received it was. »
Nonetheless, Jesse Eisenberg has nothing bad to say about Batman v Superman :
“I loved this movie, making it and everything else. So I can only blame myself. It's not like they mistreated me. No, I'm like, 'Ah, I guess I did something wrong in that.' (…) It was depressing, but I'm always depressed in some way. Basically, 'Oh, yeah, sure, I had this great opportunity, and of course it went bad.' Just pessimism. »
LEX LUTHOR VERSION SOCIAL NETWORK
Like just about anyone cast in a film related to Batman or SupermanJesse Eisenberg was entitled to his share of criticism, out of principle. Zack Snyder also had a few ideas that did not fail to provoke reactions: a long hair Lex Luthorfar from the well-known image of the shaved head from comics; and a hyperactive supervillain version start-up nationobviously inspired by the actor's interpretation in The Social Network (which earned him an Oscar nomination).
Add to that that Lex Luthor is responsible for this famous capillotracted plan to provoke a mega-fight between Superman and Batman, which is resolved by the famous “Martha” sceneand you have the perfect recipe for rejection for part of the public and fans.
Naturally linked by contract to the DCEU, Jesse Eisenberg had spent a (bald) head in Justice Leaguewhere he welcomed Deathstroke to his yacht. In the Warner Bros. version. and Joss Whedon, he announced his intention to form a band of supervillains, to react to the Justice League. In the Snyder Cut, he revealed Batman's real identity to him.
In both cases, it went nowhere since this Lex Luthor was buried, along with the rest of the DCEU. And since then, Jesse Eisenberg has avoided blockbusters like the plague, even if he kept one foot in franchises with two sequels toElusive (the third opus comes out in November 2025) and Return to Zombieland.
More recently, he launched himself as a director with When You Finish Saving the World (released directly on VOD in France, in 2023) and A Real Painexpected in cinemas on February 26, 2025.
