People are eagerly anticipating the release of 2027's Man of Tomorrow. Lex Luthor was a ruthless villain in Superman, but in this upcoming adventure, he will have to team up with Clark Kent to stop a greater evil: Brainiac. After a lot of speculation following a screenplay teaser from director James Gunn, The Wrap confirmed Brainiac was, indeed, Man of Tomorrow's main baddie.
The character is one of the most ruthless adversaries in the DC Universe. As such, there's a lot of excitement about how he will be portrayed, and how powerful he'll be depicted as being. He's also visually unique, which has naturally sparked eagerness from fans to see the look he'll sport in the sequel. With the movie being nearly two years away, we still have no hint regarding his characterization or aesthetic. However, an awesome piece of fan-made concept art provides a cool idea for both aspects.
Aside from its undeniable quality, there's something special about this particular piece: DC Studios co-CEO and Superman director James Gunn "liked" it. Illustrator and concept artist Dipankar Talukdar posted a piece of concept art created by them on Instagram, featuring Brainiac battling David Corenswet's Superman, with Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor right behind them:
The artist captioned the post with: "Brainiac Attacks! A take on the Man of Steel and Lex Luthor battling Brainiac." As mentioned, the piece received Gunn's stamp of approval.
The director has been known to prop up artists and creatives online, so this was likely not him teasing the villain's look, and instead was him simply supporting Talukdar.
Brainiac is a particularly exciting pick as an adversary for Superman, given that we've never seen the hero go up against someone like him. Throughout his extensive cinematic history, the Man of Steel has, for the most part, only fought Lex Luthor, Zod, or some sort of evil version of himself. Brainiac presents a much-needed change of pace for the character.
He's remarkably strong, yes, but he also has a powerful brain filled with ancient universal knowledge, and an unnervingly cold and calculating attitude. On top of that, he has a great deal of alien tech at this disposal—tech that has no issues presenting a challenge for the Last Son of Krypton.
On paper, Brainiac can be the most threatening adversary Kal-El has faced. The concept art shown here is a perfect representation of how exciting a Superman vs. Brainiac (with Lex Luthor) fight can be if done properly. Man of Tomorrow will, hopefully, live up to that potential.
No one has been cast as Brainiac yet, but possible candidates for the role have already been rumored. Earlier in November, Grace Randolph claimed that three of the actors in consideration for the part were David Hyde Pierce (Hellboy, The Exorcism), Claes Bang (The Square, The Northman), and Wallace Shawn (Clueless, Young Sheldon). Most recently, MyTimeToShineHello, said: "There are mostly unknown names and [three] big names testing for Brainiac (so far)."
Man of Tomorrow will fly into theaters on July 9, 2027.
What did you think about this unofficial Man of Tomorrow concept art? What do you want to see form Brainiac in the DCU? Share your thoughts below!