It’s impossible to think of a new Superman story without Lex Luthor, but that’s almost exactly what we got with James Gunn’s Superman.
Lex is Superman’s ultimate antagonist, the one who comes to mind over figures like Brainiac, Doomsday, and even General Zod. His hubris is also the perfect match for Superman’s home-grown humility, a clash that David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult enthusiastically embody in Superman. That said, Lex is admittedly better suited to a more seasoned Superman; had Gunn not introduced us to a Man of Steel a few years into his tenure as a hero, it might have made sense to pit him against a one-off villain. Gunn even “considered” featuring Brainiac in Superman once upon a time, signaling a very different ordeal for the hero.
Superman is admittedly great as is, but a film featuring Brainiac would have gone a long way in setting it apart from past DC projects. As formidable as the villain is on the pages of the comics, he’s never gotten a chance to prove his mettle in live-action. Brainiac is overdue for a stint in DC’s Cinematic Universe — but a new leak might have just confirmed the villain’s debut in a future film.
Move over, Justice Gang: the Super-Family are the focal point of the DCU.
Though Brainiac didn’t make the cut for Superman, Gunn may be saving the villain for a bigger film down the line. At the premiere for Peacemaker Season 2, the director revealed that he’s “finished a treatment for the next story in what I’ll call the Superman Saga,” which will take place after Supergirl and could feature the Super-Family teaming up against a common threat. What form that threat will take remains a closely-guarded secret, but DC’s yet-to-be-released documentary about the filming of Superman (which recently leaked on YouTube) potentially points to Brainiac.
Early in the doc, Gunn looks back on his relationship with Superman throughout the years. While he’s occasionally had trouble connecting to the character, he expresses his love for the Super-Family comics — all while “storyboards” created for the doc take us through Gunn’s childhood. One panel depicts Gunn reading comics as a child, with a panel depicting Superman as he takes flight with Supergirl and Krypto to face off against Brainiac. It’s not official artwork from the making of Superman, or a future aspect of Gunn’s Super-saga treatment, but it might be a hint of the conflict to come. If nothing else, it does speak to Gunn’s affinity for the character: it wouldn’t be a surprise if Brainiac does end up as the main villain of the Super-Family film, but we’ll just have to wait for outright confirmation from Gunn.
