Superman Director James Gunn Shoots Down Brightburn Sequel
"It's unlikely that it will ever happen," Gunn says of Brightburn 2.
A Brightburn sequel is on the backburner. In 2019, Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn revealed he was "talking" with Sony's Screen Gems about a followup to the R-rated, Gunn-produced superhero horror movie, about a couple (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) whose prepubescent adopted alien son (Jackson A. Dunn) becomes a laser-eyed supervillain after manifesting his Superman-like powers. Directed by David Yarovesky and written by Gunn's brother and cousin, Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn, the movie earned $32.9 million at the box office against a reported budget of $12 million, and a mid-credits scene suggested a potential direction for a Brightburn 2.
But five years later, Gunn — now co-chairman and CEO of DC Studios, who is shepherding the new DC Universe with his upcoming Superman reboot —says the balaclava-clad Brightburn might be up against something even scarier: a rights dispute.
"I mean we talked about it early on," Gunn wrote on Instagram's Threads in response to a fan's inquiry about Brightburn 2. "But the rights are all f—ed up (I only own half) so it's unlikely that it will ever happen."
Shortly after Brightburn soared into theaters in May 2019, Gunn announced on Instagram he was "tied up for the next few years" with The Suicide Squad for DC and then Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel Studios, but added "we're talking about the [Brightburn] sequel." Those talks never materialized, and earlier this year, Gunn confirmed on social media there are "no plans at all" for more Brightburn.
Gunn is currently up, up, and away directing DC Studios' Superman, the recently-retitled reboot formerly known as Superman: Legacy. David Corenswet stars as Kal-El — the last-surviving son of Krypton whose rocket ship crash lands in Smallville, Kansas, and is raised by his adoptive parents as Clark Kent — and leads a cast that includes Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce as The Daily Planet's Perry White, and María Gabriela de Faríaas the Engineer. The film also features Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, and Nathan Fillion as the Guy Gardner Green Lantern.
Gunn's Superman is set to open in theaters July 11, 2025.
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