Brainiac Cast: Lars Eidinger to Play Superman Villain in Man of Tomorrow

Director and DC-boss James Gunn announced on social media Saturday that he has cast German actor Lars Eidinger as the villainous Brainiac in his Superman follow-up film Man of Tomorrow.

“In our worldwide search for Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow, Lars Eidinger rose to the top,” Gunn wrote on his Instagram account. “Welcome to the DCU, Lars.”

Eidinger, 49, may be relatively unknown to North American audiences, but he can currently be seen in the George Clooney-Adam Sandler movie Jay Kelly, which is streaming on Netflix.

His other film and TV credits include Babylon Berlin, All the Light We Cannot See, High Life, Tim Burton’s Dumbo, My Little Sister, Dying, Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper, White Noise, and Irma Vep. Eidinger is also a rapper, musician, and DJ.

Even though he hovers near the top of Superman’s rogues gallery, Man of Tomorrow marks the first time Brainiac will be depicted in live-action on the big screen. Man of Tomorrow will see Superman (David Corenswet) and his archenemy Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) have to ally to protect Earth from Brainiac.

Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, Brainiac made his debut in 1958’s Action Comics #242. He is a genius alien android who was originally a scientist from the planet Colu named Vril Dox.

“But now, he exists as a cyborg with a series of super-strong bodies to draw upon. Already fiendishly intelligent, Brainiac has made it his goal to collect all knowledge that exists in the universe,” as IGN’s Jesse Schedeen explains in his piece Why Brainiac Makes Perfect Sense as Man of Tomorrow's Main Villain.

“​​Brainiac’s fiendish modus operandi consists of travelling to different worlds and capturing cities as his personal souvenirs. He shrinks them down and bottles them up for his collection, and then destroys what remains of the conquered civilization. One of Brainiac’s greatest prizes is Kandor, a relic of the Krypton that was. In some versions of the Superman mythos, it’s actually Brainiac who causes the destruction of Krypton after stealing Kandor.”

Man of Tomorrow starts filming next year for a July 9, 2027, release.

What do you think of James Gunn’s Brainiac casting choice? Let us know in the comments.