So yeah. That happened.
If you haven’t heard, the Oscar-nominated actor has been cast as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. Oscar winner Jeremy Irons has also been tapped to play Alfred Pennyworth in the film (which has been pushed to Summer 2016). Best know for portraying Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Eisenberg’s name wasn’t on anyone’s radar for the role — those names belonged to folks like Bryan Cranston and Joaquin Phoenix, to name two. So this news was definitely… unexpected.
We’ve talked about the Man of Steel sequel a lot here on The Nerds of Color. I’m starting to wonder if Zack Snyder and company are just trolling the internet at this point. Fanboy outrage seems to be the de facto response to every announcement so far. And after #Batfleck broke the internet in half last summer, how long until #Lexbook dominates twitter?
As with the Affleck and Gal Gadot casting announcements, I’ll maintain a wait-and-see attitude until May 6, 2016. I mean, casting Eisenberg — who’s 30 years old and is six inches shorter than Henry Cavill (and eight inches shorter than Affleck!) — is definitely against type.
Interestingly, I’m more concerned about Jeremy Irons as Alfred. So far, while the reaction online to Eisenberg has been less than flattering, fanboy consenus around Irons is that he’s a great choice. I’m just not sure I’m ready to have Alfred sound like Scar from The Lion King.
You know who my pick for Alfred would’ve been?
Rob Brydon. Or maybe Steve Coogan.
Or both.