In an exclusive interview, Bryan Cranston reveals the truth about rumors that he was going to play Lex Luthor in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
As soon as Zack Snyder revealed the marquee at San Diego Comic Con 2014 that he was doing a film focused on ‘Batman V. Superman’, casting speculation began almost immediately for all the key players who could take part in the first of its kind movie pitting two of the most well known superheroes against each other.
It didn’t take Snyder long to choose Ben Affleck to take over the role of Batman but there were still a ton of parts to fill including the featured villain for the movie — Lex Luthor.
The classic Superman bad guy was going to be the third major player in ‘Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ and while the role ultimately went to Jesse Eisenberg, there were rumors floating around for weeks that it was Heisenberg getting the part instead.
Bryan Cranston — who portrayed iconic meth maker Walter White in ‘Breaking Bad’ — had his name pop up numerous times regarding the part in ‘Batman V. Superman’. At one point there was even a rumor that Cranston had an offer on the table to play Lex Luthor in the film.
Well, it turns out none of it was true.
Cranston revealed when speaking to NerdcoreMovement.com at San Diego Comic Con 2015 that the Lex Luthor rumors were nothing more than social media chatter by fans who liked him for the part. Truth be told, Cranston says even if the producers behind ‘Batman V. Superman’ were paying attention, he wouldn’t have accepted the part because it was almost too carbon copy from the role he just played to award winning perfection in ‘Breaking Bad’.
“The Lex Luthor thing was not something I sought. It was a social media push. Warner Bros. we never talked about it and quite frankly I thought it was just kind of obvious casting,” Cranston said.
“Like ‘who’s bald and who could be menacing?’ and I thought it wouldn’t have been a great role for me to do. I wouldn’t have done it.”
While the ‘Batman V. Superman’ rumors were all generated by online buzz, Cranston says there was another role he was interested in that could have landed him in what could be the biggest movie of 2016 when the final numbers are tallied.
The veteran actor says he was in early discussions with director J.J. Abrams about appearing on ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ but eventually talk fizzled and he moved onto a new project. Of course that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be interested in circling back to the ‘Star Wars’ universe at some point in the future.
“The director J.J. (Abrams) I know him, and I talked about possibly doing a role on this ‘Star Wars’ that just came out and I didn’t get one,” Cranston said. “That’s all right. That’s OK.”
Cranston also stated ‘it’s never a bad thing’ when fans want to see him portray parts like Lex Luthor or even a future role in ‘Star Wars’.
He’s most interested in playing parts in films with great stories because those are the ones with the best chance for success. Cranston knows a phenomenal character can only go so far if the story surrounding him isn’t worth watching.
“It’s about the story first. If the story is really interesting,” Cranston said. “It’s about the execution of it and how the script supports that story and then it gets to the character.
“Because it doesn’t matter if you have a great character, if you don’t have a good story or a good script to support it, it’s a waste. It’s a waste of time.”
Cranston will next be seen in the new online cartoon series ‘Super Mansion’ where he will play an aging superhero in the show from the creators and producers behind ‘Robot Chicken’.
