Summary:
- Zack Snyder considered Leonardo DiCaprio for Lex Luthor role in Batman v Superman.
- DiCaprio suggested Superman fighting Justice League concept.
- DiCaprio’s name previously surfaced for superhero roles in Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
Leonardo DiCaprio was once considered for the role of Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder’s 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, according to the director himself.
In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Zack Snyder revealed discussions with several actors for the role of Lex Luthor, including Tom Hanks, Adam Driver, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Jesse Eisenberg was ultimately cast as the iconic villain.
“I think I did talk to Adam on the phone, yeah,” he said of the rumored castings. “Leonardo DiCaprio, I talked to him about it.”
While DiCaprio didn’t take the role, Snyder praised him for his insightful ideas during their meeting. DiCaprio reportedly even suggested the concept of Superman battling the Justice League, a plot point explored in both the theatrical and director’s cuts of Justice League.
“I think, in the end, he was like, ‘Eh, I don’t know.’ But he was really smart about the material and really smart about the character,” the director shared. “In a lot of ways, I think he was the one that mentioned to me this idea about Superman fighting the Justice League at some point.”
This wasn’t the first time DiCaprio’s name surfaced in the superhero movie world. David S. Goyer, co-writer of Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, previously mentioned discussions about DiCaprio for a role in those films, possibly even the Riddler.
While DiCaprio ultimately opted out, it’s interesting to imagine how his portrayal of Lex Luthor might have differed from Eisenberg’s take on the character.
