5 Actors Who Could Play Brainiac In James Gunn's Superman Sequel

Basically ever since James Gunn's "Superman" soared into theaters this summer, the running bet for picking the sequel villain has been Brainiac. Gunn himself may (emphasis on may) have just confirmed Brainiac will be showing up in the sequel we now know is called "Man of Tomorrow."

Gunn shared a photo of the completed second draft of "Man of Tomorrow" on Instagram. The cover page has a diagram of a human head, with an unusually shaped brain. Ergo, Brainiac.

Gunn has said "Man of Tomorrow" will be a two-hander between Superman (David Corenswet) and his nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) where they must work together against a common threat. What better foe than a powerful alien invader who (usually) wants to absorb Earth's knowledge then destroy the planet? Gunn has also listed Brainiac as a bad guy he considered using for his first "Superman" movie, before deciding it needed to be Lex.

Brainiac is usually depicted as a green-skinned alien cyborg in purple and silver armor; three circle nodes on his head in a triangle arrangement form his insignia. I trust Gunn will hold no comic booky detail back if he is indeed using Brainiac. (If there's no bottled city of Kandor, what are we doing?)

Somehow, Brainiac has never appeared in a live-action "Superman" movie, even though he's "Superman" comics no. 2 villain after Luthor. That means, if/when he is casting Brainiac, Gunn will have no previous movie performances to draw on, the way any Superman actor is inevitably compared to Christopher Reeve. Brainiac has appeared in several cartoons and video games, though, voiced by Corey Burton (in "Superman: The Animated Series" and subsequently "Justice League"), John Noble (in animated film "Superman: Unbound"), Jason Isaacs (in video game "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League"), Michael Emerson (in cartoon "My Adventures with Superman") and more. What do those voiceover performances tell us about what a live-action Brainiac needs — and which actors can fit in?

James Gunn often brings along actors from his old movies or projects to his new ones. So, looking back at his past films, which actors seem the most Brainiac-y?

The obvious answer is Chukwudi Iwuji, who played the similar alien tyrant the High Evolutionary in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." But unfortunately, he's already in the DCU thanks to his role as Murn in "Peacemaker."

So let's go back to the first "Guardians" movie instead, where Lee Pace played ruthless Kree warlord, Ronan the Accuser. From his performance as the blue-skinned Ronan, we know that Pace can carry himself in face-paint makeup and alien armor.

Pace is an actor of great range, and I think "creepy robot super-villain" fits within that range. Before "Guardians," I knew him as the demure, puppy dog-eyed Ned the Piemaker in the whimsical procedural series "Pushing Daisies." How surprising, then, to see him hamming it up playing a villain as subtle as Skeletor and having a blast doing it. He starred on the AMC drama series "Halt and Catch Fire," playing the cold, Don Draper-esque Joe MacMillan, a computer salesman in '80s Silicon Valley.

Currently, Pace is starring on the sci-fi series "Foundation," playing (multiple clones of) an evil interstellar emperor. For what it's worth, Brainiac often duplicates himself too. (Devin Meenan)

David Oyelowo never disappoints as an actor. Yet somehow through the superhero movie boom, he hasn't been recruited by Marvel or DC yet. Better late than never, because he could be an excellent pick for Brainiac (as first suggested by my /Film colleague Ryan Scott).

Now, on one hand, his most famous role is playing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 biopic "Selma." That's a film worlds away from "Superman" and a character as far from super-villain as can be. But that's not all Oyelowo can do. I'll point to his earlier appearance in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" as Steven Jacobs, a detestable, venom-spitting biotech CEO who you love to hate.

Another sign of Oyelowo's range is he's not just an on-camera actor, he's also trained in voiceover. It makes sense, since he's got a very fine voice (especially when he gets to use his natural British accent). In "Lion King" cartoon "The Lion Guard" he voiced a ghostly Scar and came as close to holding a candle to Jeremy Irons as any person possibly can. He also voiced the Imperial Agent Kallus in "Star Wars: Rebels," whose aloofness (initially) lived up to his name. Oyelowo would be a particularly strong pick for a more emotive Brainiac, like the one Emerson voiced or the one in the new "Absolute Superman" comic — a Brainiac who takes sadistic glee, not robotic dispassion, in carrying out his destructive quest for knowledge. (Devin Meenan)

"Deadpool & Wolverine" joked that Marvel Studios will never recast Wolverine and just keep bringing Hugh Jackman back. ("Till you're 90.") The same could be said of Michael C. Hall as the killer of serial killers Dexter Morgan. Paramount/Showtime will not let "Dexter" die; they already tried to once, then they changed their minds and brought him back.

If Hall can find time in between "Dexter" shoots, though, then a lot of Superman fans are championing him as their pick for the DCU's Brainiac. He's basically built his career playing a comic book super-villain, so he might as well play one where he gets the appropriate costume. This wouldn't be Hall's first rodeo with DC, either; he previously voiced a vampire version of Batman in the 2015 animated film "Justice League: Gods and Monsters."

What makes Hall such a serious contender here is his baritone voice, something "Dexter" already relies on with its lead's internal monologue. Since Dexter is a sociopath who barely understands people but has to blend in with him, his inner voice sounds flat and creepy but also bemused, i.e. the perfect tone for a super-intelligent but arrogant robot villain like Brainiac.

"Dexter" often twists itself into knots to make Dexter be more "heroic" than he really is; he's the most angsty sociopath out there. With Brainiac, Hall could go full mastermind bad guy, unencumbered by Dexter's wishy-washiness. (Devin Meenan)

Hear me out. Is Dave Bautista too physically imposing a man compared to the traditional portrayal of Brainiac in the comics? Yes. Because Brainiac's whole deal is that he's supposed to be a superintelligent android, so he doesn't need to be a big, brawny villain — even if he has had many a big mecha suit body. Making Brainiac a big, muscular guy may initially feel like a bad idea that ruins the essence of the character and simply turns him into just another villain Superman can punch. But here's the key — tiny glasses.

Dave Bautista is arguably the greatest wrestler-turned-actor alive, and not because of his tenure as Drax the Destroyer in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy. It is what Bautista has been able to do after those movies that's most impressive, especially when he uses his physicality to play soft or even funny characters. As we saw in both "Blade Runner 2049" and "Knock at the Cabin," Bautista can get a lot of mileage out of tiny glasses when creating a character. James Gunn's DC Universe is off to a great, and rather silly start, embracing comic book weirdness in an earnest and sincere way. Having Dave Bautista play the smartest being in the universe and giving him tiny glasses as a way for his Brainiac to show off his intelligence to the people of Earth because he believes that's what humans associate with glasses — or even because he figures out Superman's secret identity and decides to copy Clark Kent and his hypno glasses — is just the kind of dumb but funny thing Gunn is known to appreciate. (Rafael Motamayor)

Sure, Lars Mikkelsen has already played a villain that's considered the smartest guy in the galaxy, but the key here is that Thrawn has blue skin while Brainiac has green skin. Those are two completely different colors, so it's totally fine.

But seriously, Mikkelsen has already proven he has a very intimidating, commanding presence that inspires fear but can also be quite alluring on an intellectual level. His portrayal of Grand Admiral Thrawn in both "Star Wars Rebels" as a voice actor and also in the flesh in "Ahsoka" is fantastic and makes for one of the best actors in "Star Wars." Mikkelsen gives that character a calm demeanor that makes him more menacing and accentuates just how above everyone else he considers himself to be. Going from the extremely loud and aggressive Lex Luthor in the first "Superman" to a Brainiac that's quieter and more calculated, almost welcoming to a degree, would make him a distinct yet memorable comic book villain. Plus, Mikkelsen already has experience with extensive body paint and heavy makeup. (Rafael Motamayor)