DC Studios is actively casting the main villain, Brainiac, for James Gunn‘s Man of Tomorrow. Several high-profile actors are currently being considered for the role.
According to Nexus Point News, Claes Bang (William Tell, The Northman), Matt Smith (Caught Stealing, Morbius), and Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2, See How They Run) are among the names being considered for the role, although none have been fully verified, and casting remains ongoing with no official offers extended yet.
A recent report claims that a casting description for Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow reveals the film’s villain will require prosthetics and a physically strong actor.
According to Gunn, Man of Tomorrow is as much a Lex Luthor movie as it is a Superman movie. He explained, “It’s a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together, to a certain degree, against a much, much bigger threat.”
Gunn revealed that his vision for the DCU “goes significantly further” than Man of Tomorrow. He added, “Whether I’ll be the one who gets to fulfill that promise depends on many factors.”
Filming is scheduled to begin in June 2026. Gunn will write, direct, and produce the film alongside DC Studios’ Peter Safran, who will also serve as co-producer.
According to Gunn, Man of Tomorrow is not a direct sequel to Superman. In the film, David Corenswet returns as Clark Kent/Superman, and Nicholas Hoult reprises his role as Lex Luthor. Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane, Edi Gathegi appears as Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, and Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl, among others.
Speaking to The Ringer-Verse podcast, Gunn said Man of Tomorrow has a different tone from Superman. “Superman is more comic-booky in some ways than Man of Tomorrow,” Gunn explained. “That has to do with the dual characters of Lex and Superman at the center.” He added, “I’m interested in getting into the heart of Lex and seeing how he fits into all of this—getting to know more of Lex as a human being. We’ve seen a lot of the evil part of Lex. He’s pretty evil, but as a character, he’s really interesting. There’s something, despite everything, that is incredibly heroic about Lex.”
Man of Tomorrow will be released in theaters on July 9, 2027.
Source: Nexus Point News
