Jesse Eisenberg Was Originally Eyed For A Different BATMAN V SUPERMAN Character

When Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, there was a mixed reaction from fans. Some saw potential for a Mark Zuckerberg-esque younger incarnation of Superman's nemesis, while others thought Eisenberg was being typecast and wouldn't be able to bring the same charm and charisma Lex has had in the past. It remains to be seen how Eisenberg will do in the end, but he spoke about the character in a new interview with The L.A. Times:

"The character has a core of reality. [Luthor] has a back story that's tragic and an emotional inner life that's authentic. That's in the movie. It was my interest in playing the character with a real emotional core, and this writer, Chris Terrio's interest in creating a character that seemed viable in reality."

"To call [Lex] self-aggrandizing is to say that the Titanic was a sailboat. He is a narcissist of the first order but complicated in that way as well in that he is terribly troubled and competitive and vengeful. He looks at Superman not as somebody to destroy but as genuine threat to humanity."

But the most intriguing part of the interview is actually with director Zack Snyder, who reveals that he initially approached Eisenberg with a totally different character to play in the movie:

"Let's call it a secret, but nevertheless it was the exact opposite of Lex Luthor," Snyder said.

I wonder if the role Snyder had in mind for him was The Flash, who's long been rumored to make an appearance in the movie. I can see Snyder thinking the motor-mouthed Eisenberg might be a good fit for a cinematic version of that character, and the fact that he's eventually a member of the Justice League kind of fits in with the "exact opposite of Lex" comment. (He clearly wasn't offering him the role of Superman, since Henry Cavill is probably going to be playing that part for at least the next five years.) But since I haven't read the script, I'm not even 100% sure that character will show up at all, so maybe it was someone else entirely. I'd love to hear your guesses in the comments.