James Gunn’s leap from Marvel to DC hasn’t been an entirely seamless one. He released his first Superman film in 2025, and despite some complaints and criticism, it earned strong critical and audience scores. Then Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock, was released in 2026, and it failed to live up to its predecessor in terms of reviews and critical reception. And while much of the criticism that Supergirl drew was relatively nitpicky and superfluous, it seems that Gunn is taking it—and the few jabs aimed at Superman—to heart and using it to improve his next film, Man of Tomorrow, before it gets even further underway.
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A ton of rumors about the upcoming DC flick have officially hit X, courtesy of Superman Saga News, and fans are already going through them with a fine-tooth comb. Some of the most exciting, however, are those pertaining to villains both old and new: Lex Luthor and Brainiac, who is set to have a more terrifying design than ever before. “Brainiac’s look is described by production members as ‘terrifying’, with the appearance being able to convey a sense of fear to the general public,” said the scooper. And about Lex Luthor, they stated that he’ll be getting “more action scenes than Superman, including a sequence at the beginning of the film where a shirtless Lex gets involved in a prison fight,” which is surely exciting for the Luthor fans out there.
James Gunn Is Dead Set On Making Man of Tomorrow Bigger and Better Than Superman
And the news about the introduction of Brainiac, as well as the expansion of Lex Luthor’s character, aren’t the only things that fans have to look forward to. Wonder Woman is officially making her Gunn DCU debut and will be played by Adria Arjona (Triple Frontier, Andor). Not only that, but the film as a whole will have a more mature feel to it and is drawing comparisons from industry insiders to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which was also directed by Gunn. Tying into that more mature vibe will likely be the scenes where Clark finds himself spending more time on the farm, helping Pa Kent, who, sometime between the events of Superman and Man of Tomorrow, has found himself requiring a wheelchair.
Lanterns fans also have something to look forward to, as it’s been confirmed that “John Stewart will have a substantial role, with a suit described as ‘comics-accurate.’” And while it’s being debated that introducing so many characters in only the first four films of the franchise might be setting Gunn’s future plans up for failure, it’s certain that fans are excited about each of these new reveals, and that it’s giving them hope that Gunn really does have what it takes to bring the IP to new heights than DC has previously been capable of.
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Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures
