With Henry Cavill officially done as Superman, many fans are left wondering what his Man of Steel 2 could have been. According to a new report, an early treatment featured Brainiac as the film's main villain.
"[Warner Bros.] had its own plan as new film co-chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy wanted to make a Man of Steel sequel, hiring Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight to write the treatment," The Hollywood Reporter writes. "(Classic character Brainiac was to have been the villain of that piece, a source says.)"
The Hollywood Reporter previously disclosed that Knight's pitch for Man of Steel 2 "didn't thrill Warner executives, who gave notes." The outlet also revealed that development on the Henry Cavill-led Superman sequel "promptly ended" after co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the newly-formed DC Studios on Nov. 1. Since then, many have speculated on what the two executives plan to do with the DC Universe.
In December, rumors of a wholesale reboot of the DCU circulated after reports surfaced that Warner Bros. and DC Studios had canceled Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 3. Those reports also suggested that Warners and DC Studios were considering pulling a cameo from Cavill's Superman out of The Flash. A week later, Cavill and Gunn confirmed that the former would hang up his red and blue tights for good. That said, Gunn has left the door open for Cavill to return to the DCU in a different role sometime in the future.
The DCU Will Have a New Superman
Instead of Man of Steel 2 with Cavill, Gunn is penning a Superman movie that will follow a young Clark Kent in his early days as a reporter for The Daily Planet. There is no word on who the film's villain will be, though Gunn has said that he and Safran will reveal more details in early 2023. Gunn did confirm that the project will not be another origin story. "He's not meeting the major characters for the first time, either," he tweeted. "He's merely younger."
Among the Man of Steel's rogues' gallery, Brainiac has long been a popular choice among fans for a Superman movie. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Pastino, Brainiac debuted in Action Comics #242 in July 1958. In his earliest depictions, Brainiac is a green-skinned alien who travels the galaxy shrinking various civilizations, intent on restoring them elsewhere under his own rule. Later interpretations see him as a Kryptonian supercomputer partly responsible for Krypton's destruction.
Brainiac has previously appeared in live-action television series such as Smallville, played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters, and Krypton, played by Blake Ritson. He has also almost appeared in several live-action films. An early draft of Superman III, Kevin Smith's unmade Superman Lives, and a failed sequel to Superman Returns all featured Brainiac as one of their central antagonists.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter