Justice League Officially Bringing Back A Classic DC Villain

Lex Luthor

When you've got a team that features the six most power superheroes on the planet, you're going to need at least one extra villain to balance things out. Steppenwolf and the forces of Apokolips won't be the only obstacles facing the heroes in next year's Justice League. Warner Bros. has finally confirmed a longtime rumor that Jessie Eisenberg's Lex Luthor will indeed be in the movie, but in how large a capacity is still unknown. Get ready to ring the bell, people!

Warner Bros. confirmed the news themselves through a 2017 movie press release (via Batman News) that included a cast list and synopsis for the highly anticipated Justice League movie. Jessie Eisenberg's name can be seen in the cast list clear as day alongside DCEU stalwarts like Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, and Amy Adams. Warner Bros. is, of course, mum on specific details, but given Luthor's villain status, we can guess that he might not be on the side of angels in this one.

Also worth noting: Connie Nielson is definitely in the movie too. Nielsen plays Queen Hippolyta, Wonder Woman's mother from the upcoming Wonder Woman solo flick.

Lex Luthor's inclusion in Justice League isn't too surprising given where we ended in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. After having access to Kryptonian technology, Luthor kept repeating "the bell can't be unrung," implying that he knows something big is coming. While confusing in the theatrical cut, a deleted scene from the blockbuster sheds more light on Luthor's ranting, showing the controversial villain talking to a hologram (?) of Steppenwolf and making Luthor the only person on Earth who might know what's going on.

As for what Luthor could be doing in this film, his role could be as small as appearing in one scene to as big as being a secondary antagonist. That's assuming that he will be an antagonist, though. While the motivations of Eisenberg's Lex Luthor are pretty difficult to track, traditionally Luthor is on the side of humanity, which means he won't want the planet taken over by aliens any more than Superman (hating aliens is kinda Luthor's thing). We know that Luthor will be in Arkham Asylum (another deleted scene reveal) by the time Justice League begins, so perhaps Batman pays him a little visit to figure out what all that bell talk was about.

It's still a long road until Justice League's release date of November 17, 2017, with tons more about the film yet to be revealed. In the meantime, stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with more information as soon as it becomes available.

Matt Wood

Matt has lived in New Jersey his entire life, but commutes every day to New York City. He graduated from Rowan University and loves Marvel, Nintendo, and going on long hikes and then greatly wishing he was back indoors. Matt has been covering the entertainment industry for over two years and will fight to his dying breath that Hulk and Black Widow make a good couple.