After months of speculation, the villain of Man of Tomorrow has seemingly been revealed. Since James Gunn announced his next entry in the DCU, which will be a sort-of follow-up film to 2025’s hit Superman, fans have been speculating about what villain would be powerful enough to seemingly unite Superman and Lex Luthor together. A tease of the script by Gunn featuring a brain led many to speculate the villain would be Brainiac.
The Wrap is reporting that Brainiac will indeed be the villain of Man of Tomorrow, something that is obviously a huge shock to everyone. Brainiac was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino and first appeared in Action Comics #242 in 1958. No casting details about who will play Brainiac have been confirmed, and neither Warner Bros. nor James Gunn has commented on The Wrap‘s initial story.
Brainiac’s DCU Future
Brainiac is one of Superman’s most iconic foes, but has notably not been adapted into a live-action feature film. Though it hasn’t been for lack of trying, as the villain was set to be the main villain of Tim Burton’s Superman Lives, starring Nicolas Cage. Brainiac was also considered as the primary foe in a Superman Returns sequel, and Zack Snyder revealed he planned to use Brainiac for Man of Steel 2 before the plans shifted to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
With Man of Tomorrow set for release on July 9, 2027, filming is expected to begin in April 2026. It was around November 2023 that the news broke that Nicholas Hoult would play Lex Luthor in Superman, so if Man of Tomorrow follows a similar timeline, who exactly will be playing Brainiac might soon come to light. No specific actor has been rumored yet, but over the years, there have been plenty of fan-casts, ranging from Good Night and Good Luck‘s David Strathairn to Succession‘s Jeremy Strong. A leaked casting report suggested the villain of Man of Tomorrow will require heavy make-up and be a towering figure, which could lead to an unexpected pick for Brainiac.
How Brainiac fits into James Gunn’s larger DCU plans remains to be seen. Brainiac, in both the comics and the Injustice 2 video game, is tied to Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, so a reference to the villain might appear in the upcoming Supergirl movie, teasing his role in Man of Tomorrow. Brainiac, also an intergalactic threat, might have links to the Green Lantern Corp. and therefore could factor into the upcoming HBO Max series, Lanterns. There is also the Salvation Run storyline that Peacemaker Season 2 teased, which could also be the DCU’s first planned crossover film. If Brainiac is indeed the villain of Man of Tomorrow, it will have been a moment that comic fans have waited to see unfold on screen for decades.