Brainiac Confirmed as Villain in ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’

It’s been confirmed by The Wrap that James Gunn’s “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” will have Brainiac as its main antagonist.

It was only a few months ago that Gunn teased Brainiac with with a not-so-subtle image of the script with a brain sketch on the cover. This will be the villain’s live-action debut. He hasn’t appeared in any of the 10 or so Superman movies Hollywood has released since 1978’s “Superman.”

Longtime fans will remember that Brainiac was nearly included in the first film before Gunn chose to hold him back, likely to ensure the character received the spotlight he deserved.

Gunn has already suggested that the new film will see “Lex Luthor and Superman” forced into an uneasy alliance against a “much bigger threat.” Given the history of both the comics and “Superman: The Animated Series,” it isn’t hard to connect the dots: Brainiac has often clashed with both Superman and Luthor, making him the logical candidate.

For those unfamiliar, Brainiac ranks as one of Superman’s most enduring adversaries. Over the decades, he’s been reinvented as everything from an alien overlord to a rogue AI, and more recently, as a creation of Jor-El himself—a sort of dark brother figure to Kal-El.

“Superman” fared well for Warner Bros., earning strong reviews (83% on Rotten Tomatoes) and pulling in $354M domestically for a $615M global total—despite softer overseas numbers. The official narrative the studio is putting out claims they made $120M from Gunn’s film.

Warner Bros. is already targeting an April 2026 production start, with a July 9, 2027 release date locked in for “Superman: Man of Tomorrow.”