Jesse Eisenberg Isn’t “Lex” Luthor After All

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s viral marketing campaign reveals Jesse Eisenberg isn’t “Lex” Luthor – he’s Alexander Luthor Jr.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is already proving to be an incredibly complex film, packing all kinds of characters and superhero lore into its runtime. But a new viral marketing campaign introduced yet another detail – Jesse Eisenberg isn’t “Lex” Luthor at all. According to a fictional Fortune interview advertised on Twitter, Eisenberg will be playing as Alexander Joseph Luthor Jr. – Lex’s son.

Going by the interview’s timeline, Lex Luthor was an East German native who fled to Metropolis and created the petrochemical empire “LexCorp”. Alex entered his life ten years later, and was quickly groomed to inherit the company. Following Lex’s death, Alex reinvented LexCorp as a technology giant resembling Apple or Google – only with a stronger emphasis on military contracts.

In the comics, Lex Luthor also named his child after himself, in a sense. Shortly before the “Death of Superman” storyline, “Lex Luthor II” emerged as an illegitimate son who inherited the company after his father’s death. The twist? Luthor II was actually Luthor I – a cloned body with Lex’s brain transplanted inside. Batman v Superman appears to follow a more realistic version of these events, contextualizing Alex Luthor with his father’s ruthless legacy.

The Fortune article also highlights a few points DC Comics fans should pick up on. It compares LexCorp to organizations like Wayne Enterprises and Kord Industries. There’s a brief reference to Alex’s “world-famous collection of meteorite crystals”. Finally, there’s an explanation to where Alex’s hatred of Superman stems from – his father’s fear of East Germany. “[Lex] came from a country where the government, in the guise of protector, had absolute control over the citizens,” the interview reads. “That drove him. I get it. Heck, I’d hate to see that sort of thing happen over here.”

We’ll have to wait and see how this dynamic affects Eisenberg’s performance, but it does shed some light into why he considers the role “very serious”. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice reaches theaters on March 25, 2016.

Source: Fortune, via Polygon