For at least the third time, Bryan Cranston is rumored for Batman Vs. Superman as Lex Luthor.
Cranston’s name first was attached to Batman Vs. Superman along with Mark Strong.
A trusted source close to Warner Bros. then told me that Bryan Cranston had been cast as Lex Luthor with the announcement supposed to have been made after the Breaking Bad series finale.
Obviously the announcement never came, and when I inquired about it, I was told that Cranston had changed his mind in favor of doing Broadway plays and was going to take a couple years off from villain roles following Breaking Bad.
I was told with Cranston bowing out, and with Mark Strong looking likley he would be unavailable due to his new AMC TV show, that it was back to the drawing board for Warner Bros. search for Lex Luthor.
Following that, I was told Tom Hanks was being thought about, and other names including Terry O’Quinn and Denzel Washington surfaced. It was then rumored Warner Bros. had begun looking at younger actors for the role with Joaquin Phoenix mentioned.
Now the editor-in-chief of AMC Movies is hearing through the grape vine that Bryan Cranston is Lex Luthor.
He posted a couple tweets mentioning it.
When Cranston wasn’t announced, I initially asked if WB got cold feet because of the leak, and asked if the information about Cranston bowing out was an attempt to cover it. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Cranston does seem to be the fan-favorite choice to play Lex Luthor by a large margin. Commissioner Gordon also gets a mention:
NOT A SCOOP – for what it’s worth I’ve now heard from 2 sources who Lex Luthor will be played by in Batman vs Superman. — John Campea December 25, 2013 (tweet deleted)
Take this with a giant grain of salt because I’ve never heard news from either of these sources before and I’m not sure I buy it…. But… — John Campea December 25, 2013 (tweet deleted)
What I’ve been told by both sources is that although it wasn’t true before when it was rumored a few months ago… — John Campea December 25, 2013 (tweet deleted)
Is that it’s not Phoenix, but Bryan Cranston. Again, not sure I buy it, but 2 sources claim Cranston is Lex Luthor. 2 untested sources… — John Campea December 25, 2013 (tweet deleted)
“Batman Vs. Superman” has a July 17, 2015 release directed by Zack Snyder starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot.
