James Gunn just locked in the next major threat for his Superman corner of the DCU. German actor Lars Eidinger has been cast as Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow, with Gunn announcing the news on social media and welcoming him to the DCU.
That is a big swing for a villain fans have been circling for years, and it also signals what kind of sequel this is shaping up to be. Man of Tomorrow is expected to put David Corenswet’s Superman and Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in the same story again, but not in the usual “Lex is the big bad” way. The setup sounds like Superman and Lex getting forced into some kind of uneasy cooperation because the threat level jumps way past anything either of them can handle alone.
Why Brainiac Changes the Game
Brainiac is one of those Superman villains who immediately widens the scope. He is typically written as a hyper intelligent alien force who treats worlds like data and civilizations like collectibles, which pushes Superman into more cosmic territory and gives Lex the kind of opponent he actually respects.
It also makes sense for the specific pitch Gunn has teased for this sequel. If the story is partly about Superman and Lex having to work together “to a certain degree,” you need a threat that hits both of their obsessions: Superman’s responsibility to protect people, and Lex’s need to be the smartest, most in control person in the room. Brainiac is tailor made to challenge both.
What Lars Eidinger Brings to the Role
Eidinger is a fascinating pick if Gunn wants Brainiac to feel less like a generic CGI monster and more like a presence. He is a heavy hitter in theater, and he has a track record on screen for playing intense, complicated characters without needing to oversell it. Even if a version of Brainiac leans into tech, body horror, or full alien weirdness, you still need someone who can make the character feel deliberate and unsettling when the movie slows down and lets him talk.
If you have only seen Eidinger in a couple international projects, this is the kind of role that can introduce him to a much wider audience fast.
Release Timing and Where Production Stands
Gunn has previously said Man of Tomorrow is set for a July 9, 2027 release, and reporting around the project points to an April production start in Atlanta. That is not a long runway for a sequel at this scale, which lines up with Gunn’s comments that they knew where they wanted to go next pretty quickly.
Now that Brainiac has an actor attached, the rest of the puzzle gets more interesting. If this movie is truly as much a Lex story as a Superman story, Brainiac is the kind of villain who can make that balance feel earned instead of gimmicky.
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