At this point, there’s been so much speculation circulated as news on Batman vs. Superman that it’s almost impossible to tell which rumours have any weight to them, and which are simply guesswork designed to attract hits.
One of the biggest rumours on the Man of Steel sequel last year was that Bryan Cranston had signed a ridiculously lengthy multi-picture deal to play Kal-El’s arch nemesis Lex Luthor, with the Breaking Bad star supposedly set to be confirmed after the series finale of the hit AMC show.
While confirmation of Cranston’s casting never materialised – and the likes of Joaquin Phoenix and Denzel Washington have since been mentioned as potential candidates – it’s now being reported by John Campea of AMC Movie News and the AMC affiliated podcast Amasian News that Cranston will indeed portray Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman, and that his participation in the movie is a done deal. Now, of course it’s not a done deal until it’s confirmed by Warner Bros., so take this with a pinch of salt until we hear something official…
UPDATE – Aaaand it turns out it’s not confirmed at all, with Campea taking to Facebook to clarify: “The amazing team at TEAM AMASIAN (one member just happens to me my wife) had also heard from a source that Cranston was going to be Luthor and proceeded to make a video pronouncing that it was “CONFIRMED” that Cranston was going to play Luthor… but they are new to this and mistakenly said that the rumor was “CONFIRMED”. Let me be very very very very very very very clear here… it is NOT confirmed. At this point it is a rumor being propelled on by certain sources that are NOT proven and thus I would not qualify them as “reliable” yet. This isn’t to say that it isn’t true… but that it should not be taken as “fact” yet (if ever at all). It isn’t CONFIRMED until Zack Snyder or WB officially announce it.”
Batman vs. Superman is set for release on July 17th, with a cast that includes Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Lawrence Fishburne (Perry White), Ben Affleck (Batman), and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman).
Originally published January 7, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
