With any role in Hollywood, there are always a slew of names that are in contention. But apparently there was a pretty big one in the running for Zack Snyder’s Lex Luthor at one point: Leonardo DiCaprio.
In the latest episode of the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast, “Batman v. Superman” director Zack Snyder casually revealed that, while he talked to people like Adam Driver about the role — though that was only a phone call — he also had conversations with the “Titanic” star.
“He had a lot of great ideas actually, just in the meeting,” Snyder said. “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.”
Of course, the role of Lex Luthor went to Jesse Eisenberg in the end, but Snyder also noted that DiCaprio inspired the idea of Superman (Henry Cavill) fighting the Justice League, which Snyder eventually did run with in the film.
DiCaprio does come from a knowledgeable comic background though, with his father George DiCaprio working in underground comix for several years. He was a writer, editor, publisher, and distributor, known for titles including ‘Greaser Comics,’ ‘Forbidden Knowledge’ and more.
Now, fans are set to get yet another new Lex Luthor on screen next year, in James Gunn’s “Superman.” The villain will be played this time around by Nicholas Hoult.
Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Snyder talked a bit more in-depth about which comic-based movies he came close to making, including a “Wolverine” film (though he concedes he maybe wasn’t as close as people may think) and an Elektra film.
That said, Snyder also admitted that a potential multiverse film, as DC and Marvel have been doing lately, is “not really” his thing.