'Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice' Cast Photos: First Image of Jesse Eisenberg As Lex Luthor Released

Further exhibiting his movie promotional style of “less is more,” director Zack Snyder has given fans a simple first look at the main villain in “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” In the newly released image, actor Jesse Eisenberg sports a shaved head to portray comic-book billionaire and baddie Lex Luthor.

The photo, which can be seen as exclusive content on Entertainment Weekly’s website, shows the actor looking menacing with no hair in what appears to be a prison mug shot. It’s unclear just from the still, but his shirt looks more like something that would be issued by a jail than the threads of a billionaire.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Luthor is a villain to Superman. Burdened with a condition that leaves him hairless, he’s compensated over the years by building a colossal industrial empire that’s yielded him billions of dollars. In addition to being a brilliant scientist, he’s got a long history of just hating the Man of Steel with a burning passion.

Many balked at the casting of the “Social Network” actor in the upcoming superhero film, but Snyder says that the move was deliberate as he’s trying to create a re-imagined version of the character that even comic book fans will find different. “Our Lex is disarming and he’s not fake,” Snyder told EW. “He says what he believes and he says what’s on his mind. If you can unravel the string and decipher what he means, it’s all there.”

This isn’t the first time that the director has made headlines with a character portrait. In February, he tweeted a picture showing fans their first look at former “Game of Thrones” star Jason Momoa as Aquaman. The photo’s caption -- “Unite the Seven” -- struck fans as either a reference to the seven seas, or to the seven superheroes that make up “The Justice League.” Snyder has been confirmed as the director for DC’s answer to “The Avengers” coming after “Dawn of Justice” in 2016.

Check out the image of Eisenberg as Luthor and tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.