Jesse Eisenberg has made a career out of playing socially awkward characters who find themselves in an extraordinary situation. The actor hit the peak of this trope when he was cast as Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s The Social Network. The film was universally acclaimed and was nominated in eight categories at the Oscars, winning three.
Amidst screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who adapted the first film from the book The Accidental Billionaires, talking about working on a sequel to the film, actor Jesse Eisenberg had expressed his enthusiasm at getting another stab at playing the billionaire long ago. However, he was not that hopeful about playing another billionaire he had played before – Lex Luthor.
Jesse Eisenberg Was Ready To Play Mark Zuckerberg Again
Actor Jesse Eisenberg is known for his roles in films such as Zombieland, Now You See Me, The Squid and the Whale, and 30 Minutes or Less. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Facebook’s controversial co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s The Social Network. The actor was acclaimed for his performance.
Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have only gotten more controversial since the film’s release. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin revealed earlier this week that he was working on a sequel for The Social Network after recent controversies regarding the social media platform came to light. He spoke on The Town podcast that he was writing a sequel,
“Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible. Because that is what will increase engagement. That is what will get you to — what they call inside the hallways of Facebook — ‘the infinite scroll’ … There’s supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity. There isn’t. It’s just growth.”
While director David Fincher, who helmed the original, was not too keen on the idea and called it ‘opening a can of worms’ (via The Guardian), Jesse Eisenberg had long ago expressed his interest in reprising the role again. In an interview with The Toronto Sun, the actor mentioned that he would love the opportunity to go at it again,
“Anytime you work on something, you have this feeling that it’s amazing and it’s singular and people will watch it for 10 years. Of course, 99% of the time that doesn’t happen but it’s nice when something is loved in the same way by an audience. In terms of doing that role again, look, I’ve done sequels to movies and my background is in theatre and I’m happy doing the same show 200 times. I never get bored of doing something I liked, so yes, of course, I would consider playing him again.”
Eisenberg also mentioned in a separate interview that he was fortunate to play such a complex character in a large-scale film and that he would be up to play it again (via IndieWire).
Jesse Eisenberg Was Not Too Hopeful About Playing Lex Luthor Again
While Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Mark Zuckerberg was universally appreciated and even garnered him an Oscar nomination, another billionaire role of his in a blockbuster film was not as loved. Eisenberg played the role of Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and the responses were divisive.
While the actor went on to reprise the role in a post-credits scene in Justice League, he never got to fully return to the eccentric role as the DCEU was rebooted by James Gunn’s new DCU. Jesse Eisenberg mentioned that although he loved the character, he was not too sure if he would get to play it again back in 2020. He told The Toronto Sun,
“I love that part but I don’t know what they’re doing with any of the movies. Playing him was the kind of thing you get to do in acting class in high school and never get to do in a movie.”
The Superman franchise is all set to receive a reboot with Gunn’s upcoming film Superman, which features Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
