With the recent casting of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the upcoming “Batman/Superman” film. One has to wonder what Warner Bros has planned next for their casting of the film. A character that has been tossed around as a possible lead villain/major character for the film has been Superman’s number one nemesis, Lex Luthor.
Several sites have reported that “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston is urging Warner Bros to cast him for the role. Cranston states, “Give me a call. I like Lex Luthor. I think he’s misunderstood. He’s a loveable, sweet man.”
Cranston insists he’s ready to tackle the role, stating he already has the bald, infamous look that Lex is known for going for him, and wouldn’t mind keeping the head shaved for the role (Cranston had shaved his head bald for the show “Breaking Bad” due to his character having cancer). Cranston is no stranger to the DC World, he also provided the voice for Commissioner Jim Gordon in the 2011 Batman: Year One animated movie.
Frankly, a second Superman film without Lex Luthor would leave many fans scratching their heads. In “Man of Steel”, there were signs of Luthor’s presence (several trucks and signs donned the “LexCorp” name), so you would figure we would finally get to meet the man himself in the second film. As for Cranston playing the Luthor role, on one end, it would be striking while the iron is hot (since “Breaking Bad”, Cranston has become a huge name in the acting world), and would be very interesting to see how Cranston could portray the villainous Luthor.
On the other side, a lot of fans could see this as a “flavor of the month” type of casting, and could only enrage the DC fanboys even more (to be fair, regardless who gets picked for the role, there will be complaints).
My opinion, I would like to see Cranston as Lex. He’s got the acting chops to play the evil/maniacal side of Lex that’s hell-bent on destroying Superman (done best by Kevin Spacey in “Superman Returns”), and he can also play the sympathetic/doing what he thinks is best for the world type of character that will go to any lengths to get what he wants (played best by Michael Rosenbaum in “Smallville”).
I believe Cranston can capture both of these characteristics from Lex Luthor and combine them into one extremely powerful, and extremely threatening character. Only time will tell if Cranston gets the role, however, with Affleck as the Dark Knight, anything is possible.
Source- IGN.com