Although Henry Cavill did not get to reprise his role in a direct follow-up to 2013’s Man of Steel, Zack Snyder has disclosed that he had designed a second film featuring Brainiac as the primary antagonist. Speaking recently, the filmmaker behind the original movie shared details of his intended storyline for Man of Steel 2, which was set to explore a confrontation between Superman and Brainiac within the DCEU framework.
Insights from Zack Snyder About the Proposed Storyline
In a conversation with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Snyder affirmed his plans for the introduction of Brainiac in the sequel. The director remarked,
“We absolutely did. My plan was to hopefully have this sort of established timeline we could branch off and go do this Brainiac movie that would have like a Superman/Brainiac solo concept.”
Despite this, Snyder’s next DCEU project became Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, sidelining the Man of Steel 2 concept.
The Fate of Snyder’s Superman Trilogy and Its Central Theme
Although the envisioned sequel never came to fruition and the DCEU officially concluded with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December 2023, Snyder maintains that his trilogy remained rooted in Superman’s narrative. He emphasized,
“My opinion is that in the end, the full Justice League saga is a Superman story, regardless of how much Batman plays into it,”
clarifying further,
“When it’s all said and done, Superman is the survivor, he is the savior. Without him, there’s nothing. You know, it is a Superman-centric universe.”
Future of Brainiac and Superman in the DC Universe
Though Zack Snyder did not bring Brainiac to the screen, the character is set to make a cinematic debut in an upcoming DCU project. James Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow, scheduled for release on July 9, 2027, will feature Brainiac portrayed by Lars Eidinger. This signals a fresh chapter for Superman and his rogues’ gallery within the new direction of DC films.
