In December 2024, Superman & Lois concluded after four seasons, and that in turn marked the end of the Arrowverse and nearly two decades of The CW delivering DC TV shows. While the series finale, “It Went By So Fast,” was able to give its characters perfect endings, the original plan had been for the Tyler Hoechlin and Bits Tulloch-led series series to run much longer. In fact, Michael Cudltiz, who played Superman & Lois’ Lex Luthor, recently revealed that Brainiac was supposed to appear in future seasons, which is making me sad again that the show ended before its time.
Cudlitz shared this information while speaking with ScreenRant at Fan Expo Philadelphia. When asked if he knew of any story elements that had been discussed for Superman & Lois, but were never able to be explored, the actor answered:
From what I remember, it involved Brainiac. They were going to definitely go into the world of Brainiac.
Although Lex Luthor is considered to be Superman’s arch-nemesis, Brainiac definitely comes in a close second. Whether he’s being depicted as a superintelligent from the planet Colu or a rogue AI from Krypton, this villain has been a thorn in Superman’s side in the comics and other media for over 65 years. Some of Brainiac’s most notable appearances outside of the printed page include in the DC Animated Universe (starting with Superman: The Animated Series), My Adventures with Superman (one of my favorite versions), and the short-lived Krypton, which did an especially good job depicting him in live-action.
Considering how well Superman & Lois adapted characters like Bizarro Superman and Doomsday, I definitely would have welcomed seeing the show put its stamp on Brainiac. I’d also like to think that if Michael Cudlitz was aware about the Superman & Lois team wanting to use this green-skinned menace, maybe we would have seen him and Luthor work together. After all, these two have a history of partnering together in DC stories, and it often doesn’t end well for them. Alas, we’ll just have use our imaginations to envision how things would’ve gone down between him and Cudlitz’s Luthor.
Superman & Lois was cancelled after four seasons for a variety of reasons, including The CW’s programming lineup significantly changing after the channel was acquired by Nexstar, as well as reportedly to avoid competition with James Gunn’s Superman movie. But unlike fellow DC shows Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow and Gotham Knights, Superman & Lois was at least given time to craft a proper ending rather than leave fans with unresolved plot threads.
So things didn’t end up working out with Brainiac on Superman & Lois, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the DC Universe finds a way to include him. What you can do is stream many of the character’s previous film and TV appearances, as well as the entirety of Superman & Lois, with a Max subscription.
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