DC fans are already putting together the clues and pieces of the next Superman movie like it’s a new Tetris game, and the villain chatter is heating up. James Gunn confirmed the sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is hitting theaters on July 9, 2027, and fans are zeroing in on one villain: Brainiac.
According to Nerdrotic, Brainiac was originally planned for a post-credit scene in the first Superman movie. Gary Buechler, backing this up with info from Chris Gore of Film Threat, explained: “Remember we talked to a person… And that person said there was two post-credit scenes, that they saw… That didn’t end up in the movie… And one was Brainiac. So maybe… they moved that to Supergirl.”
This would line up with Gunn’s interconnected approach. Supergirl hits June 26, 2026, and being set in space, it’s a natural place to introduce a major cosmic threat. The idea is that her movie could lay the foundation for Man of Tomorrow, where Brainiac, or maybe Mongul, forces Superman and Lex Luthor into an uneasy alliance (kinda like Batman and Superman in the Snyder film?).
Gunn has made it clear that Man of Tomorrow isn’t a direct sequel to Superman (2025), which recently crossed $611 million at the box office. “We’re scheduling it now. I’m totally done with the treatment. My treatments are incredibly intense. They’re not regular treatments. They’re 60-page treatments with dialogue and everything. And so, now I’m just turning that into a script,” Gunn told Collider. He also told fans on Threads, “Superman has a major role. It’s not ‘Superman 2.’ I’m not sure how you define ‘direct sequel.’ I pretty much think of Peacemaker Season 2 as a direct sequel.”
Official art released alongside the July 2027 announcement only fueled speculation. Jim Lee’s illustrations show David Corenswet as Superman and Nicholas Hoult in Lex Luthor’s Warsuit. On social media, Corenswet and Hoult shared alternate pieces by Jorge Jiménez and Mitch Gerads that hint at multiple threats. One image even teases a Superman-Lex confrontation that could end with the two teaming up against a bigger enemy.
Fans are connecting dots across movies, shows, and featurettes. Earlier this year, a brief shot included Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto standing off against what appeared to be Brainiac’s head. Combine that with Gunn’s insistence that the DCU won’t hinge on a single mega-villain like Marvel’s Thanos, and you get the theory: Brainiac could be the first large-scale cosmic threat, not the ultimate boss of the DCU.
Supergirl lands June 26, 2026. And Man of Tomorrow swings into theaters on July 9, 2027.
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