Justice League Screening Confirms Lex Luthor Has Been Cut
Goodbye, sweet, weird prince.
It looks like those rumours that Joss Whedon had cut Jesse Eisenberg's divisive Lex Luthor from Justice League might have some legitimacy.
Thanks to a report from Batman-News.com, this new, Facebook generation Luthor was not present in the version of the film that is currently being screened to test audiences.
Clearly, that would suggest that the sub-plot involving Luthor's existing relationship with Steppenwolf - which was teased in that mind-bending deleted scene from Batman v Superman - will not be followed through. Depending on how you feel about the performance, that might not be the worst thing.
Whether this is Whedon's decision alone remains to be seen, but it will be difficult to separate the news from the suggestion that Whedon is quietly making substantial alterations to the original vision. We know that he's done enough to earn a writing credit, and scenes are still being filmed (even with the suggestion of logistical reasons, this is a long time for reshoots and pick-ups), so there's every chance he's made lots of changes.
How the film will now bridge to Steppenwolf's appearance remains to be seen, but it surely must be a different approach than what was planned. Without him acting as the "herald" to Darkseid's underling, it may be the case that Steppenwolf is simply reformed as a sort of suped-up scout who comes to Earth to find the Motherboxes himself on behalf of his boss.
And though Luthor won't appear here, that's not necessarily confirmation that we won't see more of Eisenberg in the DCEU. Warner Bros are making Man Of Steel 2, after all, and they'd have to have a pretty major angle to justifiably get rid of Superman's greatest enemy before that sequel.
Or maybe they'll just recast him entirely?