Following James Gunn’s latest Man of Tomorrow comments, the biggest candidate for the Superman sequel’s villain feels pretty obvious. Confirmed to be released in 2027, Man of Tomorrow will not be a direct sequel to Superman 2. Instead, the DCU film will be a two-hander, starring both David Corenswet’s Superman and Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor as dual leads.

At the end of Superman, Lex Luthor was being hauled off to Belle Reve after his plans to kill and turn the world against the Man of Steel failed, along with the Boravian invasion of Jarhanpur. Luthor was publicly exposed as a traitor, losing much of his credibility. However, it seems Lex Luthor will not be Man of Tomorrow’s villain.

James Gunn Has Confirmed Man of Tomorrow Will Be A Superman/Lex Luthor Team-Up

Rather than being the primary antagonist once more in Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn confirmed on The Howard Stern Show that the sequel will see Luthor and Superman joining forces as unlikely allies:

“It’s a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat.”

Keeping that in mind, this essentially confirms the idea that the Man of Tomorrow тιтle is in reference to both Superman and Lex Luthor simultaneously. However, one has to wonder who or what this “much bigger threat” will be.That said, there is one option that easily stands above the rest as the best and most likely option for Man of Tomorrow’s villain: Brainiac.

Why Brainiac Makes So Much Sense For Man of Tomorrow’s “Much Bigger Threat”

In the original DC Comics, Brainiac is a powerful and hyper-intelligent alien android from the planet Colu. His sole mission is to collect all knowledge across the universe, while also preserving civilizations by shrinking and bottling entire cities.

This includes the Kryptonian city of Kandor, providing a major link to Superman and his alien heritage. Brainiac’s intelligence also rivals, if not surpᴀsses, Luthor’s. As such, Brainiac could easily be the perfect foil for both “Men of Tomorrow”, threatening the destruction of Earth and/or the bottling of Metropolis, thereby forcing Superman and Luthor to join forces.

Likewise, a similar team-up against Brainiac recently occurred in last year’s House of Brainiac storyline, providing a key precedent from the comics.

Following multiple well-received animated appearances (and even a live-action appearance on SyFy’s Krypton), Brainiac has also been a long-hoped-for DC villain for years. Many were hoping to see the Coluan supervillain fight Henry Cavill’s Superman back in the day in a Man of Steel sequel.

Perhaps now, Brainiac can finally become a reality in the new DCU continuity with Man of Tomorrow.