For the first time in the DCEU, Justice League followed the Marvel model of featuring two post-credits scenes at the end of the movie. The first was a quick bit of extra fun, involving the Flash and the Man of Steel re-enacting their classic race from the comics. The second was a much juicier sequence, however, teasing a major threat to come for the League.
If you recall, it began at Arkham Asylum, where a guard finds a laughing inmate in place of Lex Luthor. The real one is sitting aboard his luxury ship, where he’s in a meeting with none other than Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke. Luthor has a proposition for the assassin: “[Superman] and his odd little friends have formed a sort of… league,” the villain explains. “We have to level the playing field, Mr. Wilson. To put it plainly, shouldn’t we have a league of our own?”
While it’s a great little tease, fans will surely know that originally, Lex was going to have a few more scenes in the pic, before they got cut. And while we probably won’t ever see them, it’s very likely that the character will appear in the DCEU again in the not too distant future. Where he’ll show up, we can’t say for sure, but if Jesse Eisenberg has his way, it might just be in Man of Steel 2.
Speaking to Variety in a recent interview, he was asked whether he’ll be returning to the franchise via the aforementioned sequel or perhaps in another film, and while he obviously couldn’t say anything concrete, he did state that he’d love to play Lex again.
“I hope so. I mean, I have no idea is the truth. I love playing the character. Probably in terms of movie acting, it’s the most enjoyable character I’ve had the opportunity to play. So I would love to do it again. But I don’t know what their slate is. If you have any pull, please use it.”
Further in the interview, the actor was asked whether there was any truth to those rumors that many of his Justice League scenes were cut, and he said:
“No, no. Actually, on the contrary, they added some stuff.”
Again, WB’s exact plans for both Lex and the villainous team he’s putting together remain a mystery, but make no mistake about it, big things are in store for Eisenberg’s villain and the rest of the gang. Reports from late last year point to there being a huge reveal at San Diego Comic-Con, as the studio wants to “continue planting seeds” and will also include a post-credits scene that teases the group at the end of Aquaman, too.
But what other supervillains could join Luthor and Deathstroke in their evil band? Well, the cackling Arkham inmate at the end of Justice League does seem to be suffering the effects of Joker venom, suggesting that Luthor got pally with the Clown Prince of Crime while on the inside. Apart from Joker, Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam seems like another top candidate, too.
Enough with the speculation, though. For now, it’s just good to know that Eisenberg’s still into playing the character and whether it be in Man of Steel 2 or somewhere else, we certainly look forward to seeing more of him and his Legion of Doom.
