After a "worldwide search," the DCU's Brainiac has been found, and it's taking inspiration from a "creepy, wonderful" take on the Superman villain

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After a "worldwide search," the DCU's Brainiac has been found, and it's taking inspiration from a "creepy, wonderful" take on the Superman villain News By Mireia Mullor published 22 December 2025

Superman's next foe on screen is set to be the "stuff of nightmares"

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James Gunn has finally (officially) confirmed that Brainiac is debuting in Superman: Man of Tomorrow, and that Lars Eidinger is set to play the "creepy, wonderful" villain. You might have seen Eidinger in the German show Babylon Berlin and Netflix's 2023 miniseries All the Light We Cannot See, and now he is joining David Corenswet in the superhero sequel, set to be released in 2027.

"In our worldwide search for Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow, Lars Eidinger rose to the top. Welcome to the DCU, Lars," Gunn revealed on Threads, surprising fans who had speculated before with very different names.

Following the announcement, a fan took the opportunity to ask about Gunn's inspirations for the character, writing: "James, is there a particular version of Brainiac you're taking inspiration from (Silver age, the Marv Wolfman early 80s version, Byrne era, Geoff Johns, or even the Bruce Timm animated universe where he's from Krypton)? Can't wait to see what you do with this character. So many different routes and I've been waiting to see one of these movies take a crack at him for 20 years."

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Gunn replied: "I love aspects of many versions of the characters, from the 1950's Binder stuff to the surprisingly scary Wolfman stuff to the animated versions and up through the truly creepy and wonderful, current Absolute Brainiac."

The DCU boss later liked a comment from another fan that read: "Absolute Brainiac is the stuff of NIGHTMARES."

The introduction of Brainiac was expected at this point, and doesn't come as a surprise to fans. Most of the speculation stemmed from a post by Gunn that showed the first page of the Man of Tomorrow script's first draft, which included an anatomical illustration of an apparently non-human head. Now we know fans were right, and that was the first tease of the arrival of Brainiac.

Eidinger will be joining Superman actor David Corenswet and Lex Luthor actor Nicholas Hoult for the sequel, but the rest of the cast is yet to be confirmed. However, we are expecting to see the Justice Gang (Edi Gathegi's Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern, and Anthony Carrigan's Metamorpho) back, along with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.

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Superman: Man of Tomorrow is flying to cinemas on July 9, 2027, following the release of Supergirl on June 26, 2026. For more, check out our guide to DCU Chapter One and upcoming DC movies. Need to catch up? Here's our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order.

TOPICS James Gunn CATEGORIES DC Movies Action Movies Mireia MullorContributing Writer

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

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