More than a few moviegoers felt confused by Lex Luthor's master plan in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Actor Jesse Eisenberg, who portrays Lex in the film, delivered a different take on the character that was more Mike Zuckerberg and less the character many fans of the DC Comics version of the character know and love.
All that really came across in Eisenberg's version of the character was that he was a) crazy and b) really hated Superman for reasons that weren't entirely clear. Thankfully, Eisenberg recently sat down with IGN to discuss Lex's motivations in the film in an attempt to clarify the character's mindset. Unfortunately, Eisenberg's comments don't really make Lex's actions any more comprehensible.
Spoilers for Batman v Superman below!
Here's what Eisenberg had to say about Luthor's plan to create Doomsday toward the end of the film:
"I think Lex becomes increasingly unhinged throughout the movie," Eisenberg tells the site. "I also think he's a guy who has 40 back-up plans and so when one thing doesn't work out he has another and if that doesn't work out he has another, which is why I think he never feels that threatened by Superman and Batman because he knows he always has the leverage and his final act, in my opinion; and this is now thinking back a year-and-a-half — was this kind of like last-ditch effort to leave it all on the table."
Uh huh. That doesn't exactly explain why Lex hates Superman so much in the first place, or why he, apparently, is in cahoots with some alien force (aka Darkseid). If Lex hates aliens so much (Superman), then why does it seem like he is teaming up with one? Lex comments at the end of the film that Superman's death is like a bell being rung, implying that an even greater threat than Doomsday is coming to Earth.
A deleted scene recently released by Warner Bros. muddles the waters even further, but does seem to confirm that Lex had dealings with an otherworldly presence in the lead-up to his arrest. Perhaps, the extended edition of the film will provide more answers, but for now, Eisenberg's crazy depiction of Lex Luthor remains as confusing as ever.
