Warner Bros. Pictures has cast Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons will play Alfred in the upcoming Superman/Batman film.

The castings, announced Friday, come two weeks after Warner pushed production on the untitled “Superman-Batman” movie to the second quarter of this year and set a release date of May 6, 2016 as the studio departed from a July, 2015 slot.

The film is in pre-production with Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman and Zack Snyder directing.

‘Batman-Superman” will also reunite “Man of Steel” stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane, and also stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.

The screenplay will be written by David S. Goyer, from a story co-created by Goyer and Snyder. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan and Wesley Coller serving as exec producers.

“Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940,” Snyder said. “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.”

Irons is replacing Michael Caine, who portrayed in all three Christian Bale “Batman” films.

“As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure,” Snyder said. “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.”

Eisenberg next appears in “The Double” and “Night Moves.” Irons recently appeared in the television miniseries “The Hollow Crown” as Henry IV.

 reds8n wrote:
With regards to the Singer film...

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/12/23/concept-art-for-brainiac-from-bryan-singers-nixed-superman-returns-sequel-plus-bonus-plot-details/[/spoiler]

With regards to this..

I'm much happier with the casting of Luthor than Alfred... strokes for folks I guess.

 Compel wrote:

For example if you set it around LexCorp rebuilding Metropolis, you can have Lex on the soapbox of saying that it was Kal-el's presence that caused the events of the first film to happen. That he was single handedly responsible for 1000's of peoples deaths.

They key, would be having an actor that can portray that belief with 100% conviction, and get other people to believe it too.

Scene:

Lex Luther sitting in a dark office in front of a desk, the computer monitor illuminating his face. He starts to type on his keyboard as the camera moves around the office until it is positioned behind him and we can see the monitor. Luther is typing a message on LexCorp's Facebook page:

Kal-el's pressence has brought suffering to the people of metropolis. The fight between these aliens caused destruction to our city and it caused the death of thousands of our citizens. As long as Superman is allowed to live on our planet none of us will ever be safe.

Share if you no longer want humanity to be in danger because of an alien living among us.

Luther hits the "enter" key and leans back in his chair, picking up a glass of scotch. He takes a sip of his drink and sees a red 1 on the top of the screen.

Notification:

Joe Smith has shared your post

Luther takes another sip and cracks a smile.

"Your move Superman...."