James Gunn’s Official Brainiac Casting is a Shocking Choice

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After months of teases and rumors, James Gunn revealed on X that has finally found its villain.

James Gunn’s upcoming Superman sequel, set to release after 2025, has cast Lars Eidinger as the villain Brainiac, as reported by Deadline. Eidinger is a German actor and rapper who recently appeared in films like Jay Kelly and White Noise. While he’s known for his work in European cinema, he may be a new face to many American audiences.

The choice of an actor relatively unknown to Western audiences is unexpected, considering all the rumored candidates. However, it aligns with director James Gunn’s typical casting preferences. You can read Gunn’s welcome message to Lars and details about his role in the DCU here:

A script for Man of Tomorrow included a detailed diagram of the human brain, sparking fan speculation about who would play the villain Brainiac. Director James Gunn has been actively dismissing rumors, but the recent confirmation of Lars Eidinger in the role is generating excitement and will keep Man of Tomorrow on track as a major DC Universe release following Supergirl.

This is a major reveal for the Superman films, as a live-action version of the villain Brainiac has never appeared on the big screen before. While Brainiac has been featured in animated series, and versions have been portrayed in Krypton by James Marsters and Blake Ritson, fans have eagerly awaited his theatrical debut ever since the first Superman movie in 1978.

First appearing in 1958’s Action Comics #242, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, Brainiac began as an alien from the planet Colu. He was known for shrinking and collecting entire cities from different worlds, including Kandor, the Kryptonian capital. Over the years, Brainiac has been reimagined in various forms – as a simple collector, a robotic ruler, and even a human controlled by an outside force. Despite these changes, he’s consistently presented as a significant threat to the entire DC Universe, going beyond just being an enemy of Superman.

Many fans will encounter Brainiac for the first time in Man of Tomorrow. Casting Lars Eidinger as this iconic Superman villain is a thrilling development, particularly as Brainiac could play a major role following the next Superman movie. Given Brainiac’s history with large-scale events like the Crises and other multiversal storylines, viewers can anticipate a significant impact from this character within James Gunn’s expanding DC Universe.

Man of Tomorrow is scheduled to hit theaters on July 9, 2027.

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2025-12-20 20:17