Man Of Tomorrow’s Villain Has Reportedly Been Revealed, And It’s A Big One In Superman Lore

James Gunn’s DCU has only just gotten started on the big screen, but it’s now moving at an incredible pace. In addition to the upcoming Supergirl and Clayface movies that we’re getting, a sequel to Superman has already been given a green light and a release date. James Gunn has already completed the first draft of the script, and now we may know a key character who is in it, the villain Brainiac.

Brainiac May Be Coming To The DCU

While Brainiac has been the leading candidate for the big bad in the upcoming Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, The Wrap is reporting that it has learned that Brainiac is, in fact, the villain of the film. It’s unclear where the information comes from, so it’s possible there’s more going on, but the source is usually reliable.

HBO Max: Plans start from $10.99 a month
If you want to see James Gunn's DCU you can find all of it, including Superman, Peacemaker Season 2, and Creature Commandos, on HBO Max.

View Deal

There had already been strong hints that Brainiac was going to be the main antagonist of Man of Tomorrow. The original image of Superman and Lex Luthor that came with the sequel confirmation showed Supes and Lex together, Lex in the power armor he often uses in the comics. The image appeared to show the pair side by side, as if they might be joining forces in the sequel to battle some bigger threat. This idea was later confirmed by James Gunn.

Then, when Gunn released a shot of the first draft of his completed Man of Tomorrow script, it included an image of a cross-section of a human head, including an exposed brain. Fans also took this as a hint that Brainiac was coming, though James Gunn is staying quiet.

Who Is Brainiac?

Superman’s top villain is obviously Lex Luthor, but Brainiac is a strong number two on that list. While Brainiac, like all comic book characters, has seen a lot of different iterations over the decades, he’s often an alien cyborg with a singular focus on learning all there is to know about the galaxy. He also has had a tendency to shrink down major cities and keep them under glass like a ship in a bottle.

One can easily imagine Brainiac coming to Earth and threatening the planet, leading Superman and Lex Luthor to team up to try and protect the planet, as Brainiac would certainly be a threat to both. Superman wouldn’t want anybody to be hurt, and Luthor wouldn’t want anybody else with more power than he has.

While Brainiac has been a Superman villain in the comics since 1958 and has appeared in various iterations of Superman on TV, in print, and in video games, this will be the first time we see Brainiac on the big screen. It will be interesting to see who James Gunn casts in the role.

While it’s now all but certain that Brainiac will be the villain of Man of Tomorrow, we still don’t know how the character will actually factor into the story or what the actual plot will be. We don’t honestly have too long to wait to find out, as Man of Tomorrow will hit theaters in July 2027.