The last time we saw Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor was in the post-credits scene of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Newly freed from prison and as bald as his comic book counterpart, he relaxes on a yacht and ponders on the need to build a league of his own.
The stinger was designed to tease a Legion of Doom movie that will now likely never happen. In fact, that post-credits scene may well be Eisenberg’s final performance as Luthor, with the studio showing little interest in having him return, even if the actor did admit he’d love to play the role again.
Batgirl is currently shooting, and the multitude of set photos to have made their way online have revealed the set is crammed full of Easter Eggs. We’ve previously seen an issue of the Gotham Tattler indicating that Luthor is back behind bars, and now we know exactly where he is, courtesy of the Gotham Globe newspaper.
Belle Reve Correctional Center is where Luthor was imprisoned at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, though the ending of that film saw Batman arranging for him to be moved to Arkham Asylum to be more closely monitored. This newspaper indicates he’s been moved back, and may also connect Luthor’s fate to the Suicide Squad.
After all, Belle Reve is where supervillain candidates for Task Force X spend their days, so him being there is an indication that Luthor is considered very dangerous, but ultimately sane enough not to be locked away in Arkham.
Despite this, I doubt they’d let Luthor onto any Suicide Squad team. He’s too famous, too well-connected, and too manipulative to be trusted – even if they implanted a bomb into his skull.
Sadly, further details of what Luthor’s doing there remain unclear as the article is just garbage filler text. Chances are high that this prop is just a piece of background color, and whoever designed it doesn’t have the inside scoop on what Eisenberg’s Luthor is doing (or even the ability to spell his name correctly).
Even so, it’s a fun little nod to longterm DCEU fans, and another hint that Batgirl will hold the torch for the continuation of the SnyderVerse.
Batgirl will be released on HBO Max later this year.
