“Superman: Man of Tomorrow” Villain Revealed: James Gunn Casts Lars Eidinger to Play Brainiac
James Gunn shared some huge news on social media this past Saturday, revealing that he’d found the man to play Brainiac, the villain in his upcoming Superman sequel, Superman: Man of Tomorrow.
In our worldwide search for Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow, Lars Eidinger rose to the top. Welcome to the DCU, Lars. pic.twitter.com/atkWZpG1CT
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 20, 2025
Lars Eidinger has secured the coveted role, a German actor little known stateside but who has appeared in some big series, including the acclaimed German series Babylon Berlin, Shawn Levy’s Netflix miniseries All the Light We Cannot See, and Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise.
We’ve known since September that Gunn’s upcoming sequel will find David Corenswet’s Superman teaming up with a very unlikely ally, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, after Luthor moved heaven and Earth to try to have Superman destroyed in the first film. In Brainiac, Eidinger is taking on a classic Superman villain first introduced in Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino’s 1958 “Action Comics No. 242,” revealing a super-intelligent alien hell-bent on shrinking Metropolis and bottling it up to add to his collection of miniaturized alien cities. The threat is so significant that Superman has no choice but to turn to Lex Luthor.
Gunn wasted no time after Superman‘s successful launch this past September to get moving on the sequel, with Man of Tomorrow slated to hit theaters on July 9, 2027. Gunn is once again directing from a script he wrote.
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Meet Milly Alcock’s Messier, Mightier Kara Zo-El in Wild First “Supergirl” Trailer
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Featured image: BERLIN, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 13: Lars Eidinger poses at the “Das Licht” photocall during the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 13, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
