Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

Zack Snyder has revealed that he had discussions with Leonardo DiCaprio about playing Lex Luthor in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice...

By MarkCassidy - Apr 18, 2024 12:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Batman vs. Superman

Leonardo DiCaprio as Lex Luthor? Sounds like it may have come pretty close to happening!

Though the Killers of the Flower Moon actor has made a point of avoiding comic book/superhero movies over the course of his career, it seems he did consider signing on to play the Man of Steel's nemesis in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before Jesse Eisenberg landed the role.

Rebel Moon director Zack Snyder was a guest on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, and during his chat with host Josh Horowitz, he revealed that he spoke to both DiCaprio and Adam Driver (who was previously rumored) about signing on to play the iconic villain in his Man of Steel follow-up.

Snyder says that DiCaprio did seem interested, but ultimately decided that it wasn't for him. However, he did give the filmmaker an idea that he would end up using for Justice League.

“I think DiCaprio had a lot of great ideas, actually, just in the meeting. I think in the end he was kinda like, ‘Eh, I dunno,’ but he was really smart about the material and really smart about the character.”

“I think he was the one that mentioned to me this idea about Superman fighting the Justice League at some point," Snyder continued. "And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool,' and I was like, ‘I’m gonna put that [idea] over there, that’s gonna happen.’”

Of course, that is indeed what happened in JL, and many consider the scenes with the resurrected Supes taking on the other team members to be among the best in the movie.

Do you think DiCaprio would have been a good fit for Lex Luthor? Let us know in the comments section, and have a look at the clip and full interview below.

"It's been nearly two years since Superman's (Henry Cavill) colossal battle with Zod (Michael Shannon) devastated the city of Metropolis. The loss of life and collateral damage left many feeling angry and helpless, including crime-fighting billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). Convinced that Superman is now a threat to humanity, Batman embarks on a personal vendetta to end his reign on Earth, while the conniving Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) launches his own crusade against the Man of Steel."

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GeneralChaos
GeneralChaos - 4/18/2024, 12:28 PM
He wasn't "in talks". That makes it sound like they were trying to come to an agreement. Leo probably talked with him over email or phone.

Leo advised Timothy Chalamet not to do superhero films so I doubt he seriously considered being in a Zack Snyder film.
FrenchSauce
FrenchSauce - 4/18/2024, 12:57 PM
@GeneralChaos - That was his advice to an up and coming actor, so you aren't too tied to any one character and you don't have a movie or two a year to have to build the rest of your career around, plenty of the MCU mains have talked about having to turn down big offers because of their MCU commitments. DiCaprio's situation is different, he'd established himself.
RolandD
RolandD - 4/18/2024, 1:05 PM
@FrenchSauce - Context is everything. I had not thought of it that way but it makes sense.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 4/18/2024, 2:51 PM
@GeneralChaos - I think he would do one if it was genuinely good. It sounds like he was in actual talks to play the character and decided against it. He probably thought that, after The Dark Knight Trilogy and Man of Steel and the way that Zack Snyder was putting together BvS that it sounded interesting.

Ultimately it proved to not be as interesting as he may have thought. It was pretentious rather than genuinely artistic.

He was also in talks to be Joker in Todd Phillips Joker, which was purporting itself to be an R-rated, character-driven, Scorsese-esque take on the Joker's origin, which on paper sounds very interesting. But he obviously decided against that too.

One day we may see Mr. DiCaprio do a comic book movie. Since both of the roles he was considering were villain roles, it's possible that we'll see him as a villain at some point.🤞
bobevanz
bobevanz - 4/18/2024, 3:10 PM
?si=oKvMRneiNr-0dAUg

Kill me
Origame
Origame - 4/18/2024, 5:07 PM
@GeneralChaos - in talks is a very general term. All it could really mean is that it was discussed with the casting directors and/or the actor was asked about his interest.
GeneralChaos
GeneralChaos - 4/18/2024, 5:13 PM
@FrenchSauce - Yet Timothy tied himself to Dune and he'll likely sign up to other franchises.

And any big offers MCU actors are getting are because of the MCU. Besides that, it didn't stop Chris Hemsworth from making a dozen films outside of Marvel.
GeneralChaos
GeneralChaos - 4/18/2024, 5:19 PM
@ObserverIO - I don't think he was in talks to play Joker. What it looks like is the studio wanted him but that's far different than him wanting to be Joker.

Having a conversation isn't much. People are using "in talks" like it means "in negotiations". It just means one side is interested.
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 4/18/2024, 5:25 PM
@bobevanz - this should’ve been called Transformers: One and Done. This is NOT getting a sequel or starting a franchise.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 4/19/2024, 4:38 AM
@GeneralChaos - Yeah that is an important distinction. But then what do you say when they're talking about it but non-committal? Maybe they can still call that 'talks' and they should just say 'final talks' when they mean negotiations.
GeneralChaos
GeneralChaos - 4/19/2024, 6:35 AM
@ObserverIO - I think if there was serious talks about him we would've heard about it.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 4/18/2024, 12:28 PM
That would've been interesting.
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Vigor
Vigor - 4/18/2024, 12:31 PM
@Nomis929 - did you pull that off with AI?
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 4/18/2024, 12:32 PM
@Vigor - I found it online.
SuperJefe
SuperJefe - 4/18/2024, 1:01 PM
@Nomis929 - Lex Leo would be pretty freaking awesome.
RolandD
RolandD - 4/18/2024, 1:07 PM
@Nomis929 - It sure as hell would have beat what we got by a lot. Snyder either nailed the casting or missed by a mile.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 4/18/2024, 1:50 PM
@RolandD - This is true. While I thought most of his casting were spot on, Jesse Eisneberg as Lex Luthor was a big miscast.

Esepcially since the perfect actor for Lex was out there...

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RolandD
RolandD - 4/18/2024, 2:19 PM
@Nomis929 - Right? He was great as Sinestro even if the movie wasn’t. The casting wasn’t what brought that movie down IMHO.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 4/18/2024, 2:59 PM
@RolandD - He wasn't just great as Sinestro...he was PERFECT!

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EgoEgor
EgoEgor - 4/18/2024, 5:07 PM
@Nomis929 - I like Mark Strong but he just doesn't have the charisma for Lex. Lex should be someone who has a charismatic personality but also be intimidating. Leo has that more than Mark Strong.

I personally wanted Denzel, but neither Denzel or Leo are going to sign up for x-amount of films that are unpredictable in quality and they have no control over.
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 4/18/2024, 5:21 PM
@Nomis929 - I’m sold.
RolandD
RolandD - 4/18/2024, 5:29 PM
@Nomis929 - I’ll accept that.
OriginalGusto1
OriginalGusto1 - 4/18/2024, 8:15 PM
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Nomis929
Nomis929 - 4/18/2024, 9:54 PM
@OriginalGusto1 -

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RolandD
RolandD - 4/18/2024, 10:47 PM
@OriginalGusto1 - Charlie Callas. Not someone you see everyday..😂
OriginalGusto1
OriginalGusto1 - 4/18/2024, 11:22 PM
[frick] you guys are old.
Deadinside
Deadinside - 4/19/2024, 8:15 AM
@RolandD - I love his hunting story...!☮️😆
RolandD
RolandD - 4/19/2024, 12:01 PM
@OriginalGusto1 - Pot. Kettle.
Vigor
Vigor - 4/18/2024, 12:29 PM
Casting random A list actor for a role that they look nothing like, is just the same or WORSE than race bending or gender bending a character in my opinion. Neither Adam Driver (who they seemingly want for any and everything nowadays) nor Leonardo look the part. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Fit a size 11 foot into a woman's 8 shoe.

But both can act so that's there.
That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it

I also love Leonardo and brad Pitt. The two coolest and most talented white guys in Hollywood. The superman vs justice league fight idea sounds like something AI would make up but man was it fun to see. Especially seeing supes track the flash mid fight. Great use of slow mo there
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 4/18/2024, 12:55 PM
@Vigor - isn’t the only descriptor for Lex that he’s bald (bald cap or shaving ) and fit (movies hire trainers all the time)?

Idk how Leo wouldn’t look like him
Vigor
Vigor - 4/18/2024, 12:57 PM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - Leo is too short and Adam is too tall. But yes bald and also an almost alien ufo type noggin. The guy they cast for the new superman is perfect as long as they make him bald
Itwasme
Itwasme - 4/18/2024, 1:30 PM
@Vigor - strange I tend to think the way they are written, the story, characterization, personality, they way they are directed and the actors ability to breathe life into a character are more important than if they are the very specific height they have sometimes been portrayed in the books, but everyone has different thoughts on this.
Evansly
Evansly - 4/18/2024, 1:36 PM
@Itwasme - Completely agree
Vigor
Vigor - 4/18/2024, 1:46 PM
@Itwasme - I hear you. But it's not just the height I'm talking about. That's just 1 very easy example

How would you feel about Willem dafoe being cast as Professor X?
If you don't like it, I'd like you to tell me why
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 4/18/2024, 1:55 PM
@Vigor - I actually think Willem Dafoe could work as Xavier even though he doesn’t really “ look” like the character which is a weird thing to talk about given multiple artists have drawn him in different ways

Dafoe could do the wise father figure that deals in some shady shit sometimes even though he usually plays eccentric , creepy or villainous characters.
Itwasme
Itwasme - 4/18/2024, 2:03 PM
@Vigor - I don't really sweat castings, but might have issues with the portrayals.

Eisenberg could have been a great Lex, but I didn't like the way it came across.

I'd need to see Dafoe before casting judgement.
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 4/18/2024, 2:07 PM
@Vigor - i get that, can camera trick your way around it though

I’m not a fan simply off of Superman shouldn’t be the youngest and Batman / Lex should be close to his age
soberchimera
soberchimera - 4/18/2024, 2:12 PM
@Vigor - I disagree, I think he would've been great as Lex. Man in the Iron Mask and Django Unchained both proved he can play nasty villains and he would have been an infinitely better than Eisenberg.
Vigor
Vigor - 4/18/2024, 2:29 PM
@TheVisionary25 @Itwasme @ShimmyShimmyYA @soberchimera

Well there's only one way to find out. Let's petition #releasethedicapriocut
dagenspear
dagenspear - 4/18/2024, 2:50 PM
@Vigor - According to Google, his height is 6 foot.
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