One of the things that fans love most about James Gunn is his constant updates. Whatever you want to say about him as a filmmaker, he keeps his people informed and he’s a genuine fan himself. He’s also everywhere! Gunn was on the reality show Big Brother talking about his love for it (he and I are both superfans), and he even talked a little about Man of Tomorrow. Dude gets around. Anyway, Gunn dropped his most unsubtle tease on social media that the Superman sequel’s villain will be…Brainiac. And he did it with a look at the script cover.
The first draft of the Man of Tomorrow script shows a human head with a big ol’ brain in it. Yep, looks like Brainiac will finally be making his live-action movie debut. Unless Gunn is really screwin’ with us here. With him, you just never know. He might’ve found an obscure DC Comics villain, who also is really really smart, for Supes and Lexy to battle against. Part of me hopes it’s actually Gorilla Grodd.
Brainiac makes the most sense, though. The character was nearly put into the first movie, but Gunn changed his mind. Undoubtedly, he wants to give him the full spotlight. If you’re going to come up with a challenge big enough to force Superman and Lex Luthor to work together, Brainiac is it.
The character has appeared in live-action TV multiple times. First was in Smallville played by James Marsters, recurring in a handful of seasons. Brainiac also showed up on the shows Krypton and Superman & Lois.
Man of Tomorrow should begin shooting early next year, and is expected to open on July 9th 2027.
