James Gunn has announced the next film in DC Studios' Superman saga, opening the door for many exciting comic book characters to debut in the DCU. Gunn announced on social media that the follow-up to 2025's Superman would be titled Man of Tomorrow and would target a release date of July 9, 2027. The film's title is a reference to one of Superman's many names throughout DC comics, but it may also indicate the movie will draw inspiration from the comic run of the same name, in a similar way to how Superman drew on All-Star Superman.
The latest Superman film introduced David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. In the film, he was not only tasked with saving Metropolis from an interdimensional portal but also had to work to reconcile his human and alien heritage after learning the truth about his Kryptonian backstory. Naturally, Superman didn't have to do this alone, and he had several famed DC characters on his side.
DC Studios is already hard at work introducing DC's comic book characters into the new cinematic universe, with Superman including the likes of Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mr Terrific. It's safe to assume that Man of Tomorrow will bring back some of these characters and introduce new ones. But if the Man of Tomorrow source material is anything to go by, some characters could be perfectly introduced into the DCU in this story.
DC Characters Who Should Be Included in James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow
Brainiac
The modern digital-first Superman: Man of Tomorrow comic series features Superman facing off against some of his greatest comic book villains. Brainiac, the superintelligent android/cyborg, is one of these villains. The character is yet to debut in a Superman film, making Man of Tomorrow the perfect place for the major DC villain to appear.
Adding to this is the fact that Brainiac is a villain who could challenge both Superman and Lex Luthor. His control over technology would challenge Superman physically, while his advanced intelligence would be a match for Lex's brain.
James Gunn hinted that Brainiac was considered for an appearance in Superman, but the film ultimately went in another direction. Now could be the time for the iconic Superman villain to finally debut.
Metallo
Metallo is another iconic foe of Superman who appears in the digital-first Man of Tomorrow comic run. In the comics, Metallo is a man named John Corben whose body is infused with that of a robot, powered by a Kryptonite heart. His Kryptonite insides give Metallo a significant advantage against Superman.
Gunn's Superman didn't limit itself to one villain, with several foes rising to fight the Man of Steel throughout its runtime. This means Man of Tomorrow could employ a similar strategy and perhaps bring in Metallo as a secondary villain.
It would be interesting to see the Man of Steel face more radioactive pieces of his homeworld (after Kryptonite's impact was briefly introduced via Metamorpho in Superman), and Metallo would be the perfect villain to embody that challenge.
Martian Manhunter
Another direction Man of Tomorrow could take is to follow the path of the animated DC film, which explored extraterrestrial experiments gone wrong in Metropolis. To help deal with this new threat, Superman teamed up with the Martian J'onn J'onzz, a notable member of the Justice League in DC lore (and a character who has already been teased in Superman).
Superman's status as an alien was touched on as a theme in 2025's Superman and it could be built upon further by including another extraterrestrial hero like the Martian Manhunter, giving Superman a fellow alien ally in the DCU. After several Justice Gang members were introduced in Superman, expanding the roster to include Martian Manhunter could be the start of the transition to the Justice League of America in the DCU.
Contessa
The initial Superman: The Man of Tomorrow run, written by Roger Stern, featured the rise of a new character, Contessa, to the head of LexCorp after Lex Luthor was publicly discredited.
Superman ended with Lex (Nicholas Hoult) being publicly exposed, shamed, and arrested, which means the door is open for new leadership at LuthorCorp, and this could offer the perfect window for the Contessa to appear.
Bonus: Lobo
By the time Man of Tomorrow releases, Lobo will have already been introduced in the DCU, appearing in Supergirl in 2026 with Jason Momoa as the alien bounty hunter. However, as the DCU builds out its shared universe, the plot of Supergirl could set up Lobo for another role, this time in the 2027 Superman sequel.
There is precedent for this in the animated film Superman: Man of Tomorrow, which saw Lobo arrive on Earth to hunt down Superman for the bounty on his head. The new Superman film could follow a similar route to take advantage of the iconic DC character.
