--- description: Warner Bros is reportedly courting Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in the studio's supervillain blockbuster 'Suicide Squad' title: Jesse Eisenberg Tapped for Lex Luthor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte33fdc6152b3ae01/698762fb55a85958a7a83755/rtx1492l.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jesse Eisenberg Tapped to Reprise Lex Luthor in _Suicide Squad_ by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2014 6:00 AM CUT  Cast member Jesse Eisenberg arrives for the European premiere of "The Double" at the London Film Festival, at the Odeon West End, in central London October 12, 2013. Cast member Jesse Eisenberg arrives for the European premiere of "The Double" at the London Film Festival, at the Odeon West End, in central London October 12, 2013.Suzanne Plunkett—Reuters by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2014 6:00 AM CUT Word in Metropolis is that [Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor](http://deadline.com/2014/10/jesse-eisenbergs-lex-luthor-dc-comics-suicide-squad-batman-v-superman-859659/ "undefined") might also scare up the screen in Warner Bros’ supervillain blockbuster, _Suicide Squad_. Eisenberg is already playing Lex Luthor in _Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice_, scheduled for the spring of 2016. _Suicide Squad_, also set for release in 2016, is on the studio’s [slate](http://deadline.com/2014/10/wb-dc-superhero-movies-batman-superman-wonder-woman-flash-851956/ "undefined") of 10 superhero and supervillain epics featuring characters from DC Comics, Deadline reports. All the films will roll out between now and 2020. Lex Luthor is the tycoon who de facto rules Metropolis — the megacity in the DC universe — with lots of philanthropic cash, and is hell-bent on destroying Superman. Warner Bros is also [reportedly courting](http://deadline.com/2014/10/will-smith-tom-hardy-eyeing-suicide-squad-at-warner-bros-853364/ "undefined") Will Smith and Tom Hardy for _Suicide Squad_, which follows a cohort of supervillains handling government black-ops assignments that are so high risk they’re suicide missions. \[[_Deadline_](http://deadline.com/2014/10/jesse-eisenbergs-lex-luthor-dc-comics-suicide-squad-batman-v-superman-859659/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3542737/jesse-eisenberg-lex-luthor-suicide-squad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3542737/jesse-eisenberg-lex-luthor-suicide-squad/"},"headline":"Jesse Eisenberg Tapped to Reprise Lex Luthor in Suicide Squad","datePublished":"2014-10-28T06:00:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:02:44.061Z","description":"The actor is already set to debut his version of the evil tycoon in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice","url":"https://time.com/3542737/jesse-eisenberg-lex-luthor-suicide-squad/","keywords":["movies","Superman","Warner Bros.","dc comics","Suicide Squad"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte33fdc6152b3ae01/698762fb55a85958a7a83755/rtx1492l.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte33fdc6152b3ae01/698762fb55a85958a7a83755/rtx1492l.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cast member Eisenberg arrives for the European premiere of \"The Double\" at the London Film Festival, at the Odeon West End, in central London","caption":"Cast member Eisenberg arrives for the European premiere of \"The Double\" at the London Film Festival, at the Odeon West End, in central London","creditText":"Suzanne Plunkett—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3542737/jesse-eisenberg-lex-luthor-suicide-squad/","name":"Jesse Eisenberg Tapped to Reprise Lex Luthor in Suicide Squad"}}]}] ```