Superman Sequel Villain Seemingly Confirmed By Director James Gunn (Unless He's Trolling)

Look, up in the sky! It's not a bird, plane, or even Superman himself — it's our first official look at the upcoming sequel "Man of Tomorrow" and (possible) confirmation of its major villain. Director James Gunn recently announced the title of the next "Superman" movie (starring returning actors David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor), leading to all sorts of speculation surrounding where the DC Studios co-head may take things next. 

The 2025 reboot ended with a total blank slate for the character, with all sorts of possible directions for the sequel. Perhaps a Superman/Supergirl story could be in the cards, following Milly Alcock's cameo in the waning moments of the film? Or a more straightforward leap into the Justice Gang League, considering all the various heroes already introduced? Or what about that artwork teasing Lex powering up in his war suit for some massive clash with Supes?

All of these options could certainly be on the table, but Gunn's latest tease might have just blown the case wide open. In a new post, the writer/director took to Instagram to post an image of the latest draft of his screenplay for "Man of Tomorrow." And emblazoned right in the middle of the page is a visual that sure seems to confirm what we pretty much assumed all along. An anatomical cutout of a human head shows the various inner workings going on underneath the skin ... but, predominantly, the brain. Combined with Gunn's cheeky emojis in the caption, it doesn't take many brain cells to put together the obvious clues: This could very well be confirmation that Brainiac is indeed stepping up as the main antagonist of the next Superman-centric movie.

Stop the presses, folks, because "Man of Tomorrow" is clearly gearing up for its release in 2027 and all signs are pointing to a fan-favorite extraterrestrial villain ... unless, of course, James Gunn is just messing with us. We can't entirely discount the possibility, we suppose, despite how much fun this would be and how much fans have been clamoring for Brainiac to finally appear in the flesh in live action. The big-headed, super-smart alien has obviously appeared in various DC comics and animated movies and shows before, most recently in season 5 of the HBO Max series "Harley Quinn" and voiced by Stephen Fry, of all people. ("Lost" alum Michael Emerson also voiced the character in the DC cartoon "My Adventures with Superman.") To pull the rug out from underneath us like this would feel like a return to the Gunn that Troma fans knew from his youth.

Still, the evidence piling up in favor of a Brainiac appearance at this point sure seems compelling. The "Superman" director previously confirmed that the plot of "Man of Tomorrow" would involve Superman and Lex putting aside their differences for the greater good, and teaming up to fight a greater threat. Now, what could be a greater threat (though not quite one reaching Justice League-levels of danger) than Superman's vaunted foe Brainiac? A behind-the-scenes documentary released after "Superman" piled even more wood on top of the fire, including the briefest of shots depicting a drawing of the extraterrestrial that came across as more than just a stray background detail. Where I come from, two instances can be chalked up as coincidence. Three? That's a trend. Gunn purposefully including a picture of the script that quite blatantly makes us lean towards thoughts of Brainiac feels like outright confirmation.

Whatever the case may be, we'll find out well in advance of when "Man of Tomorrow" flies into theaters July 9, 2027.