Depends entirely upon how they write him. Is he criminal mastermind Lex Luthor? Or corporate CEO Lex Luthor? I could see someone like Ralph Fiennes or Edward Norton or Jude Law or Liev Schreiber or--probably my choice--Michael C. Hall playing the role depending on how the character is defined. You want someone who conveys intelligence and cunning, coldness and callousness, arrogance, and who can play a little underlying madness.
What just occurred to me is that you'd want someone who has those attributes, but isn't necessarily seen that way in the roles that they're known for. Doing that would give you a Lex Luthor who isn't seen by the public as being a ruthless killer, so the scenes of him being evil would have a greater impact. You wouldn't want someone who had a totally squeaky clean image, of course, but they shouldn't be someone who often plays a villain. Jon Hamm might work, since his character of Don Draper is generally a good guy, with some personality flaws.
Who the hell could picture Heath Ledger as Joker until it happened? I'm prepared to be taken totally by surprise.
Probably won't be seeing in until Thurs or Fri at the earliest. For those who have seen it, couple of quick questions:_
Being Nolan's involved, I wonder if MoS exists in the same canonuity, universe, reality, whatever you want to call it, as the Bale Batman Trilogy?
By the way, someone morphed Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill together to make the ULTIMATE Superman. I think that's pretty cool:
It doesn't...according to the man himself. The plans for a future Justice League film with Cavill would feature a new Batman.
[spoilers]Does Cavill fly toward the camera and wink at the end like the Reeves/Routh flicks?[/spoilers]
Also, for my money, physical presence. I'd say Terry O'Quinn if he wasn't too old for it. But a younger version of him. I like Edward Norton, for instance, as an actor but he just doesn't have the physical side. How about....Karl Urban? Edit - i got a better idea, see new thread.
In interviews, Snyder and Nolan (i think) have said explicitly that Nolan's Batman is NOT in this continuity and exists in his own universe BUT.... that they operate on the thesis that there ARE other heroes in THIS universe and THIS one is the foundation for any potential crossover/team-up/JLA type movies In one interview Snyder (I think) was saying that basically, there are other people doing good on some level already but there are no publicly known "Superheroes" until Superman is revealed, and that his presence would serve as a catalyst for the emergence of other costumed do-gooders. (and presumably costumed villains) Not Snyder here but my speculation... Presumably the Batman in this verse is somewhere in "Year One" during that stage where Bruce is looking for an outlet to carry out his mission and before he comes up with the bat concept... wonder woman and (if you ever hear of him) Aquaman would be in their home locations, unknown to the rest of humanity... Jonn (if he appears) might still be in government custody (if they decided to borrow from the JLU continuity) Perhaps GL gets his ring because Aben Suer(sp) had just been here to investigate the battle of the Kryptonians when he was attacked... Flash maybe already has powers but is basically staying invisible in his do-gooding which with his speed he could do... Point being, the "Inspired by Superman" theme is an easy one to play out story wise. But no, the Nolan/Bale Batman is in another continuity all by himself, per TPTB Which is a good thing.
for Lex Luthor, I googled the question and the first link bruoght up a "Top 5" and #1 was...Billy Zane. He has the look, AND the voice. It's hard to argue.
I know people are already planning on Luthor, but there are some other more interesting directions being set up IMO.
What are people's thoughts on suitability for kids? I had been planning to bring my 10 and 12 year olds, but then a few reviews made me reconsider. Seems there is a fair amount of profanity and violence. I don't think the general mayhem and carnage in Metropolis would be problem, but the neck breaking seems a bit too much for that age. And while I don't mind a touch of profanity, I keep thinking about the scene in the South Park movie after the kids see the uncle fucker movie.