For the first time in his long cinematic career (seriously, look it up—the man has been around for a while), Superman is expected to face Brainiac in DC Studios' Man of Tomorrow. Speculation regarding the character was sparked when Gunn shared the cover of his script, which featured brain imagery. Then, in November, a report from The Wrap assured Brainiac would, indeed, be the movie's lead bad guy.
Recently, Gunn took to social media to clarify he had "never" said Brainiac would be the main villain of the film. Nonetheless, the aforementioned report and Gunn's tease have made it fairly clear David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult will be dealing with the terrifying space explorer. Now, Gunn has taken to social media to seemingly tease the character once again.
On his Instagram stories, the Superman director shared a post from DC artist Jorge Jimenez: The variant cover of Action Comics #1066, featuring Superman punching Brainiac:
On his original post, Jimenez captioned his art expressing his excitement for his involvement in the upcoming Superman/Spider-Man crossover. While it's more difficult to tell exactly what he meant, it seems the artist also shared excitement over Brainiac appearing in Man of Tomorrow: "It's always a pleasure to draw this old friend, soon to be alongside Spidey, and I still can't believe it! Friends, It's coming!!"
Jimenez is arguably one of the most talented comic artists working today, so it's exciting to see his depiction of a Brainiac and Superman fight. It's also exciting to see his art recognized by a major industry figure like Gunn.
James Gunn is known for platforming comic book artists on social media, so him sharing a DC cover isn't news on its own. However, what makes his latest post particularly exciting is Man of Tomorrow's expected inclusion of Brainiac. This also isn't the first time the director has commended art showing the Man of Steel and Brainiac. In November, he liked on Instagram a piece by artist Dipankar Talukdar.
Featuring the likeness of David Corenswet, the art depicted Superman and Lex battling the technologically advanced evil-doer:
As mentioned, though Gunn technically cast doubt on Brainiac's inclusion in his Superman sequel, he didn't actually deny it either. For context, responding to a misinterpreted rumor regarding Brainiac's casting, the director stated: "Oh boy. Let's forget [for] a moment I've never said Brainiac was in the movie. I freaking love [Dave Bautista] & I have many ideas for who he could play in the DCU. But he & I have never discussed a role in Man of Tomorrow, nor have we discussed it amongst ourselves at DC. In addition, truly, NONE of the names, from the six or seven I've seen rumored for a role, have auditioned or been discussed at all."
It's worth highlighting that Gunn provided a similar statement regarding a character who would ultimately appear in his project. Prior to Nicholas Hoult being cast as Lex Luthor in Superman, the director went on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast. Rosenbaum asked him if there would be a Lex Luthor in the film, which prompted Gunn to state: "Everybody thinks there's a Lex Luthor out there, but I've never said there was a Lex Luthor out there."
Man of Tomorrow is scheduled for release on July 9, 2027.
What do you think of Jorge Jimenez's Superman art shared by James Gunn? What do you expect from Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow? Let me know in the comments!