DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has already hyped up the "much, much bigger threat" that will appear in Man of Tomorrow, and there are five clear candidates. After Superman's critical and financial success, director James Gunn is pushing forward with his next flick in Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Releasing on July 9, 2027, and beginning production in 2026, Man of Tomorrow is promised to be a Superman sequel that unites Superman and Lex Luthor following their face-off in this year's blockbuster. Gunn has already started teeing up that storyline, with a Man of Tomorrow prequel airing right now on HBO Max in Peacemaker Season 2.
Following Man of Tomorrow's announcement, James Gunn teased the DCU flick's Thanos-level threat on The Howard Stern Show. The director hinted that the Superman sequel will see David Corenswet's Man of Steel and Nicholas Hoult's bald billionaire work together against "a much, much bigger threat."
"It's a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat."
Of course, that seems to hint that Man of Tomorrow's villain will go beyond anything seen before in the DCU, and far above the threat that Lex Luthor and Ultraman posed in Superman. In diving into DC Comics, there are five obvious villains from Superman's history who may feature in Man of Tomorrow...
Brainiac
Brainiac is a superintelligent android from the planet Colu who is one of Superman's greatest foes. He is known for his obsession with collecting all the knowledge in the universe and shrinking cities into bottles for preservation, including the Kryptonian capital, Kandor.
DC fans have been hoping to see Brainiac come to life for years, and Zack Snyder was even considering him for Man of Steel 2. Most consider the superintelligent android to be the perfect villain for a Superman sequel, pitting him against a mental threat after typically facing more physical opposition in the first.
Interestingly, James Gunn told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that "Brainiac was considered" for Superman before landing on Lex Luthor, hinting that he may already be on his mind for a DCU movie, such as Man of Tomorrow.
As a genius-level intellect, Brainiac appearing in Man of Tomorrow could explain why Lex Luthor and Superman team up, requiring some extra brain power and not just the physical back-up from the Justice Gang. Conceivably, Brainiac's color scheme could also have inspired Luthor's green and purple Warsuit.
Mongul
Mongul is the leader of Warworld and a power-hungry alien conqueror who travels the universe, invading and enslaving worlds, and often coming into conflict with Superman and the Justice League in the process.
As a conqueror who could pose a threat to the whole planet with strength that rivals Superman, a Mongul attack could bring together all of Earth's heroes.
Interestingly, Mongul's malevolent daughter Mongal may already exist in the DCU as she was among those killed in The Suicide Squad, played by Mayling Ng. That said, as James Gunn's pre-DCU flick is only partly canon to the reboot, her role could easily be erased if Mongul were to appear in Man of Tomorrow.
Bizarro
Bizarro is a doppleganger of Superman who has had various origins through the years, from being a failed clone to coming from the twisted Bizarro World.
David Corenswet's Superman already fought one clone of himself through Ultraman, a dimwitted creation of Lex Luthor. Having fallen through a black hole beneath the Metropolis rift, Ultraman could land in some twisted dimension or world and return as an even more corrupted Superman clone.
Gunn even told Happy Sad Confused when asked whether Bizarro could still appear after Ultraman, "We'll have to see where we go next."
This could prompt an interesting team-up between Superman and Lex Luthor, especially as Ultraman was a result of the latter's messy cloning. That said, Man of Tomorrow may also be too soon to retread the Superman double shtick.
Zod
General Zod is another survivor of Krypton who exhibits the same powers as Kal-El on Earth, but instead often looks to conquer the planet. Zod would certainly be interesting to explore in the DCU after Superman's Kryptonian parents turned out to have their own villainous motives, and he could shed further light on that twist, but it seems unlikely to happen this soon.
The Kryptonian general has already faced Christoper Reeve's and Henry Cavill's Supermen, and the Man of Steel has far more villains hiding in his rogues' gallery. Not to mention, it was only in 2023 that Michael Shannon reprised General Zod in The Flash, a movie which both flopped and earned terrible reviews.
Lex Luthor certainly hates Superman just for being him, so one has to wonder how he would react to an alien from the same world who poses a direct threat to Earth, almost giving some validity to his worst fears.
Lobo
Lobo is an intergalactic mercenary from the planet Czarnia who fights like a mad dog with a chained hook and rides around on a space bike. He is often considered a near-perfect equal to Superman with an opposite fighting style.
DCU moviegoers will meet Lobo, played by former Aquaman actor Jason Momoa, next year in 2026's Supergirl, and one report from Nexus Point News stated they had heard from "unverified sources" that he could appear in Man of Tomorrow.
Interestingly, Lobo doesn't appear in the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic that the sci-fi blockbuster is closely adapting. As such, his cameo in the space-faring adventure could be teeing up his villainous role in Man of Tomorrow.
Catch the low-res first look at Jason Momoa's Lobo on the Supergirl set.
