One of DC's quintessential villains isn't actually in
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceafter all.
In a recent tweet from a new account promoting the film, Jesse Eisenberg's character — Alexander Joseph Luthor Jr. —refers to his father after replying to a fictional
Fortune Magazine article confirming he's actually the son of Lex Luthor, who died in 2000.
The LexCorp "sponsored article" defines the new heir as "a 31-year-old wunderkind" who managed to build upon his father's aging corporation and turn it into, "a tech darling of the Fortune 500 in what some call a superhuman feat."
As the article goes on, it becomes pretty apparent that Eisenberg will be playing a more conniving version of his Mark Zuckerberg portrayal in David Fincher's
The Social Network.
Described as a, "jeans-wearing genius" and "baby faced billionaire," the newest Luthor will also apparently be a coding genius in the film.
His description as a computer wizard does raise questions about whether hacking will play a role in
Batman v Superman, and if advanced weapons like drones will make an appearance in the film.
The article also specifies that under the guidance of the younger Luthor, LexCorp has become one of the biggest technology companies in the world, third only to Bruce Wayne's Wayne Enterprises and Kord Industries (the corporation run by Ted Kord, who readers might know as the superhero Blue Beetle).
Considering that pits Luthor and Wayne against each other, it's pretty safe to assume there will be a few tete-a-tete meetings between the two heirs before any of the costumed battles take place.
According to the Fortune article, the main difference between Wayne's company in the film and Luthor's is the latter's military contract. While Wayne has apparently backed away from working on technology for the government for ethical reasons, Luthor has picked up as many contracts as he can.
"Statistically speaking, it's a near certainty that another world-changing crisis is hurtling toward us like a speeding bullet," Luthor told the magazine ominously, alluding to the events in
Man of Steel. "We have to be ready to defend ourselves."
The glowing profile piece ends by calling Luthor, "a man of tomorrow" and notes how lucky the world is to have him on the right side of evil.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to be released on Mar. 25, 2016. Watch the trailer for the movie below: