As many fans expected, Superman and Lex Luthor will reportedly form an uneasy alliance to defeat Braniac in James Gunn's upcoming film. Man of Tomorrow.
Since then, rumors have been circulating among fans that classic Superman villain Brainiac will be the film's biggest villain. Gunn teased images of the script back in September. showing an anatomical illustration of the brain.
Now, Wrapper states that it has confirmed that Brainiac is indeed the main focus of The Man of Tomorrow and the reason David Corenswet's Superman and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor are forced to team up.
Gunn's previous teases aside, Brainiac's appearance in the Superman sequel just makes a lot of sense. The list of classic villains large enough to spark a Superman-Lex alliance has never been long, and Brainiac's appearance would likely benefit from the fact that the character hasn't appeared in a major Superman movie before.
Often portrayed as a green-skinned cyborg, Brainiac can easily be seen as a threat to both Superman and Lex, as his alien drive to dominate the universe is surpassed only by his galactic intelligence.
“This is a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain extent against a much larger threat,” Gunn said. teased earlier. “And it's more difficult. This is as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie. Unfortunately, I feel strongly about the Lex Luthor character.”
At the time, fans pointed to Brainiac as the ideal opponent for the intelligent but jealous Luthor, who would likely be unhappy if he were usurped again.
“To me, that's the center of Lex,” Gunn continued, discussing Luthor's out-of-control jealousy. “Three years ago, before Superman came along, he was considered the greatest guy in the world, even along with other metahumans and superheroes in the world. And then in one fell swoop this guy shows up in a stupid suit, with dimples, a charming smile and a huge chin, and everyone forgets about him.”
Full production on Man of Tomorrow is expected to begin in April 2026, ahead of the film's July 9, 2027 theatrical release. While we wait for more from Gunn and the rest of the DC team, you might want to watch everything we know about the Man of Tomorrow. You can also read about its connection to Season 2 of “The Peacemaker”.
Image credit: DC Comics
Tom Phillips is news editor at IGN. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky. @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
