Brainiac, played by German actor Lars Eidinger, is set to make his big-screen debut in James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow, and the filmmaker was asked whether a certain Superman comic book arc influenced his script on Threads.
Gunn was also asked about the recent Maxima rumor, but didn't respond to that part of the question.
"James, was the Panic In The Sky storyline something you used as an influence on Man of Tomorrow? You've already confirmed Brainiac. Maxima has been heavily rumored. Panic In The Sky is post-Crisis Superman's first time leading a group of heroes. Sounds like your Superman might be doing that in MoT."
Gunn: "I read almost every Brainiac story to put Brainiac in MoT together and used bits and pieces I thought worked best. But PitS wasn't a key influence on the story."
Panic in the Sky was a 1992 crossover event in the four monthly Superman comic books, revolving around the Man of Steel leading Earth's superheroes in fighting an alien invasion led by Brainiac.
Eidinger spoke for the first time about landing the role last week
"For me, it's a true miracle," he told TikTok interviewer DieShowMitChris from the Medienboard Party at the Berlin International Film Festival. "It's truly a miracle that it happened, and I would venture to say that every actor, every actress in Germany, there is a secret hope that one day the call from Hollywood will come."
"I always thought, 'I'm 50 now. Okay, that's it.' Then it suddenly happened, and it all went relatively quickly, didn't it?" he added. "I really can hardly believe it. But it's not then, like, 'Snap' and you're sitting on a beach in LA. First we'll film the movie. I'm very excited."
As for Maxima, several different scoopers sent speculation into overdrive recently by sharing casting details for a character that sounded a lot like Wonder Woman, and it was beginning to look like Gunn really was in the process of searching for an actress to play a new take on the iconic Amazonian warrior for his Superman follow-up.
However, the filmmaker would later debunk the rumor, and NPN has previously reported that the character is actually Maxima, who will serve as the movie's secondary antagonist. Gunn has had no problem shooting down various other rumors relating to MOT, so the fact that he declined to respond to a question about this character might be telling.
Specific plot details remain under wraps, but we know that Man of Tomorrow will focus on the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) putting their differences aside and joining forces to defend the planet against Brainiac
Man of Tomorrow will hit theaters on July 9, 2027.