It's official. Lex Luthor will be appearing in the upcoming untitled Superman/Batman movie. He's not the only one, Alfred Pennyworth will be in the movie as well.

Who will portray these two characters?

It's been announced that Jesse Eisenberg will play Lex and Jeremy Irons will be Alfred.

Snyder stated, “Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.”

The director added, “As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious façade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne.”

What do you think?

You can read more HERE.

Jesse Eisenburg? Now there's a surprise. Seems a little young for the role if you ask me...

I don't...I don't know what to say her. Um, I hope this works out.

Jesse Eisenberg will play Lex

Hahahaha you almost had me going there for a second...

Not keen on the Lex casting (I've seen more inspiring fan casts, for sure), but I'm all about Jeremy Irons. I can definitely see him in that role.

Well, at least Alfred is getting younger. Not sure if that's a good thing...

Jesse Eisenberg I can dig that. And hey Jeremy Irons is just fantastic.

I found this part of the press release to be the most interesting

The new film is currently being written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

All I'd heard was that Terrio was making a pass over the script and wouldn't be able to make any meaningful plot changes due to how blockbusters are produced with previz and all that. But this gives me hope that Terrio will be able ot make larger changes to the overal film and actually give it a compotent script.

I don't really know what to think here....I mean I guess this could work...if you look at Michael Rosenbaum with hair he doesn't really strike you as a potential Lex Luthor but he played an amazing Lex in Smallville

They should've got Idris Elba to play Lex.

Interesting choice for lex...

Well...Eisenberg isn't that menacing..but hey, Michael Rosenbaum wasn't either, and he was a great Lex.

I have faith that they know what they're doing. Can't wait until it comes out!

Eisenberg is a major surprise. However, this should tell us that he's in it for the long haul. Jeremy Irons is a fantastic choice for Alfred. I am totally fine with all of this.

I like Jeremy Irons as Alfred for sure. Eisenberg as Lex? Hm, all the other characters he's played have been wimps so he's going to have to man up if he's going to play it right.

Very weird casting for Luthor. Surprisingly this makes me anticipate the film far more as I'm now curious as to how they'll pull this off.

I am totally okay with this.

excellent casting. eisenberg does complex intelligent characters very well. irons just has to be authentically british really.

Irons for Alfred....perfect....spectacular...awesome!!...FANTASTIC,IM AM SO HAPPY!

Jesse for Luthor?........i hope it works out.....i dont see it,yet.

Jesse is a great actor, his portrayal as a geek genius in The Social Network will helps you understand why this casting might work.

It's a bit early for April Fools Day.

Eisenberg does not have the voice or the intimidation factor to pull off Lex. Ben affleck is one thing but your losing me here Snyder.

He's 30 years old. I love this casting of him, because as you just prooved, he has been typecast as a nervous teen character. But i've been a fan of his since Get Real (a 1999 FOX show with him and Anne Hathaway and Eric Christan Olsen before people knew who they were. Arguably the reason they are known now. But anyway), and i have seen Eisenberg in more than just those 3 movies that were in theatres.

hes good. he can do this. And i think it will be interesting to see Lex's brilliance as a young evil instead of old business hell bent on keeping his company's numbers up. But i hope they have Eisenburg playing what he is: a brilliant adult who ages well. not an 18 year old.

I love it so much!!! Eisenberg as Lex is genius!!! Those who doubt him should watch social network again. He is a very skilled actor and perfectly capable to play Lex as charming, creepy, arrogant, intelligent and sinister. I love this news. Love it, love it, love it.

Irons as Alfred? Yeah, I think he will do fine.

Looks like Supes and Lex will be the same age. I wish they would have cast someone a tad older, but I like Eisenberg. This could be interesting.

WHAT.

THE.

F**K?!??!

Jesse Eisenberg? Theres no way were talking about the same person. I thought they were looking at Joaquin Phoenix or even Denzel Washington..Jesse Eisenberg is far from either of those choices. Without hair he can maybe pull off the look but I believe hes a little young comparing him to Henry Cavill or Ben Affleck.

My thoughts exactly. I guess we'll have to see how it plays out on screen. I haven't watch Eisenberg in nearly enough movies to say whether or not he has the chops to do a good Luthor (he was fun in Now You See Me, but that's the only thing I can remember him being in).

As a sidenote, what characters have been confirmed for MoS 2? Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Lex, and Alfred, right? Did I miss anyone else? (Aside from the rumours of Flash and Nightwing)

I think Eisenburg can pull this off. I've loved everything he has been on. He's a lot more versatile than people give him credit for. Too many people see him as a poor man's Michael Cera, which he isn't. He's 1000 times better.

I think Jeremy Irons is a boss but I'm getting less and less excited about this movie. Not because of the casting but because of the desperation of the production staff to load it with actors. DC has got a long way to go before they can make live action movies that they can be proud of. I think we're at a good point in film making to be thinking about a Justice League movie I just don't see how it could work with all the great Marvel Movies coming out. Man of Steel was barely okay and we're never going to see Batman movies as good as Nolan's run. Just slow down and give some of the spotlight to characters more interesting than Supes.

I was kind of hoping for someone with more of a physical presence for Luthor, but Eisenberg can pull off intellectual.

I'm all for Jeremy Irons.

I dig both casts!

Eisenberg can play a really cold and calculating Luthor.

And Irons... No need of words

@inferiorego: Michael Cera is a poormans Michael Cera

hahahaha....

except for This Is The End. He was awesome in that

This. Jesse is a great actor but he's two young for Luthor, he doesn't have the voice, the presence or anything that is needed for Lex but then again most people including me felt same about Ledger and we were proved wrong.

Hmm, hopefully with Lex Eisenberg does something more than an awkward evil genius, if so he could really deliver a suprising performance. As for Irons casting, a bit obvious but I think it's going to hang on if there is any chemistry between him and Affleck, something that at first thought I can't imagine there being much of

He also did a good job in Scott Pilgrim.

Well this has made me lose even more trust in the ability of Superman/Batman to do justice to a DC Cinematic Universe. Jesse Eisenberg is quite a rising star and a capable actor, don't get me wrong but...there's nothing sinister about him. He doesn't have the greed or malevolence in his performances thus far that is intrinsically wrapped up in Lex Luthor's character. Even his arrogant roles aren't really the kind of arrogance Lex displays which is based on a superiority complex of his intellect and high standing place in society. I just don't see him as Lex Luthor in the slightest and this is another fatal casting error that could go drastically wrong. Eisenberg just doesn't have the acting chops to play Lex Luthor IMO.

As for Jeremy Irons, I'm not too familiar with him but a quick search shows he's a BAFTA nominated actor with acclaimed roles. So that's not too bad.

good point

just might work, like the younger lex idea, and with the bald look he might look even older lol.

Jeremy Irons I'm all in... I'm gonna watch "Man in the Iron Mask" so I can hear Jeremy Irons voice... dang I like this one... Guy from Facebook movie... let's see what happens.

just a reminder

Seeing some "he's too young" comments, so fyi, he's the same age as Cavill. Now, if you have gripes with his presence or acting, sure, have at it, but he's definitely not too young.

"Who wants a sip? Sip time."

I feel the same way, Gadot and Jesse don't look their part, Bruce is almost a decade older than Clark, Lex and Diana, he's weary and semi-retired, I don't like where this movie is going. MoS was average and I don't trust Zack and Goyer. I'm loosing my hope and excitement about this movie.

Jesse seems to have the look actually if you look really carefully but so far he hasn't impressed me even the slightest with his roles to be a good cast for Lex.All of his roles are kinda lighthearted and for somebody to play Lex he should somewhat menacing and looking powerfull and greedy,and Jesse doesn't.

While Jeremy Irons is like the next best pick for Alfred after Michael Caine.He's got the looks,he's a skillfull actor and I think he would pull off a great Alfred.

And another thing for me to point out,with every day I get more and more excited about the movie and I just can't wait for it to come out.I don't know if it would be an amazing movie or a big letdown but I still want to see it.

Yeah,it's like casting Timberlake for Norman Osborn........they would have payed me,and i still wouldn't have seen it work.Timberlake's a good actor,but Norman is f-ing 40 something.You can't cast Christian Bale for Peter Parker,Andrew Garfield for Batman etc,you catch my drift.

And about Ledger,no dude,totally different......we're not talking appearance,attitude,looks etc.....we're talking age!.....a non-negotiatable aspect of a character.Joker is an unbalanced character,as for age....he's 25-45.You can cast anyone,who u think will pull it off.

Jesse,has the Lex attitude,maybe even the magic that bonds the man to the role......i just can't see it due to that he's a young man.