The most recent update about the DCU‘s 2027 Superman follow-up – Man of Tomorrow – appears to provide its biggest villain tease yet. While it’s been confirmed that Man of Tomorrow won’t act as Superman 2 exactly for the DCU, it does look to be Superman’s next central movie appearance in the DCU timeline, placing him alongside an unlikely co-star.

Despite Superman‘s ending seeing Kal-El and Lex Luthor’s rivalry reach new heights – with Luthor devastating Metropolis in his efforts to hurt Superman – it has been teased the pair will team up in the events of the upcoming DC movie. Looking at the newest clue about Man of Tomorrow‘s villain, it might just have become clear why they would do so.

James Gunn’s Man Of Tomorrow Script Photo Seems To Support A Major Villain Theory

DC Studios co-CEO and Man of Tomorrow creator James Gunn has provided many updates about Superman’s next major DCU movie story thus far. September 22, 2025, saw Gunn bring a particularly interesting update about Man of Tomorrow to the table, in the form of a photo of the second draft of the Man of Tomorrow script.

The Man of Tomorrow script cover contains some straightforward details like Gunn’s name and the names of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as well as one detail that is more strikingly unusual: an anatomical diagram of a human head, showing the inner workings of the mouth, throat, and most notably, the brain.

With there already being a prominent theory that Brainiac – who has commonly controlled and possessed the minds of others, and who has been a much-hoped for Superman movie villain – will appear in the DCU, this has naturally only stoked hopes around the idea that Man of Tomorrow‘s villain could be the Man of Steel’s most underrated major antagonist.

Why Brainiac Would Be Perfect For Man Of Tomorrow

While Brainiac has been a prominent antagonist for Superman for decades, the character has yet to appear as Kal-El’s foe in a live-action Superman movie, exacerbating fan fervor for Brainiac to appear in Man of Tomorrow, since it would be capitalizing on a figure who’s perfect for the world of film, and yet hasn’t been adapted in this way.

Since it’s already been teased that Man of Tomorrow brings Superman and Lex Luthor together to work as reluctant allies against a mutual threat, Brainiac’s debut would be fitting in terms of providing the duo with an enemy that would justify them teaming up, and that would be dangerous enough to see Luthor put aside his vitriol for Superman.

Since the DCU is still in its infancy, a galactic threat like Brainiac could also be a great way of expanding what audiences know about the universe, and increasing its scope for further follow-up releases. Indeed, with Supergirl already taking things to space, it’s easy to see how the DCU could currently be building to Brainiac’s Man of Tomorrow debut.