After months of speculation, a new report has finally revealed Superman 2: Man of Tomorrow's cosmic villain. Little is known about James Gunn's 2027 Superman sequel, aside from one thing: the blockbuster would see Supes and his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor forced to team up to take down a Justice League-level threat. Since the film's announcement, several names have been floated as potential big bads. These have included Mongul, H'el, Bizarro, and many others.
Fans finally have an answer for who the Man of Steel and Mr. Luthor will be going up against in the new film. According to The Wrap's Umberto Gonzalez and Casey Loving, Superman 2: Man of Tomorrow will feature the terrifying Brainiac as its central villain.
Brianiac has been one of the most popular characters attached to the project by fans; however, to this point, his inclusion had been merely speculative. DC Studios head and Man of Tomorrow director James Gunn seemingly teased the character's involvement in the new movie back in September, sharing an image of the Superman 2 script featuring a cross-section of the human brain.
Previously reported casting information for the Man of Tomorrow villain also appeared online, describing the character as someone with a "strong build and stature." This also led many fans down the 'Brainiac for Superman 2' road, but was by no means a concrete confirmation of the character's inclusion in the movie.
Brainiac has yet to appear in a live-action Superman movie, despite being one of the hero's most popular villains in DC Comics canon.
Best known for being a Justice League-level threat on the page, Brainiac is a superintelligent, techno-organic alien being that travels the galaxy, collecting entire civilizations as trophies of his cosmic studies.
Superman 2 comes to theaters on July 9, 2027. The new movie will see stars David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult return as Superman and Lex Luthor, along with writer/director James Gunn coming back to helm the project. Described as the next step in the DC Superman Saga, the upcoming sequel will see the Man of Steel allying with Lex to take down a common enemy—now, assumed to be Brainiac.
How Will Brainiac Factor Into Superman 2
DC Comics fans know that Brainiac is one of the most formidable foes in the brand's entire super-powered canon. His introduction into the DCU will be a big deal, as it puts a major player who has yet to appear in a live-action DC movie onto the board for the first time. His debut may also pave the path toward a potential DCU Justice League project somewhere down the line.
In the comics, Brainiac is depicted as a terrifying space-faring super-genius with an obsession for knowledge. In an effort to know all there is to know about the universe, he travels the cosmos collecting entire civilizations and shrinking them down like they are playthings for his personal collection.
Knowing this, one can easily see how he will play into Superman 2: Man of Tomorrow. He will likely become aware of Earth at some point in the new movie, threatening the planet that Superman has claimed as his home.
This will cause Supes to team up with Lex, knowing that he cannot take down the big bad on his own.
Perhaps, as Superman works through this reluctant alliance with his sworn enemy, he will start to think that maybe the world needs a bipartisan team of heroes for these threats that are greater than any one metahuman.
This could potentially lead to the eventual formation of an early form of the Justice League, with Superman using his clash with Brainiac as a learning experience for his superhero-ing career from now on.
