Jesse Eisenberg Reflects on Lex Luthor Role’s Impact on His Career After Batman V. Superman

Jesse Eisenberg expresses that portraying Lex Luthor in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice negatively impacted his career “in a significant way”.

“I was part of this Batman film and it was received so poorly, and I was also received poorly,” Eisenberg shared with Dax Shepherd on his Armchair Expert podcast. “I’ve never disclosed this before and it’s somewhat embarrassing to confess, but I truly believe it has hurt my career in a tangible way, because I was received poorly in something so public. I’ve been part of projects that were not well received that went unnoticed, and mostly, no one is aware, but this situation was so public, and I don’t read critiques or reviews or any press related to films, so I was oblivious to how poorly it was accepted.”

The Zack Snyder-helmed film was part of the now inactive DCEU, where Lex Luthor (Eisenberg) schemes to manipulate Batman (Ben Affleck) into a conflict with Superman (Henry Cavill) – whom Luthor is notoriously intent on destroying.

The film was a box office triumph, raking in $874 million against a budget of $250 million, yet it was largely despised by both critics and audiences alike. Currently, the film holds a 29% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 63% audience rating.

Some critics observed that Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor was too similar to Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight, with Gizmodo stating that someone ought to have informed Eisenberg that “Batman v. Superman is the Dark Knight to Man of Steel’s Batman Begins”.

Nicholas Hoult has assumed the role for the new DCU, and we got a glimpse of him (and his exceptionally unique head) in the initial trailer for James Gunn’s Superman.

Eisenberg will also be seen next in A Real Hassle, which is currently in theaters. Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025. For more information, check out our compilation of all the upcoming releases.