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Man of Tomorrow actor Lars Eidinger has described his live-action take on Superman villain Brainiac as something that is like “an incarnation of Satan.”
The man behind the DC’s next big movie villain gave audiences their first tease for what he’s bringing to the DCU during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Although the James Gunn-directed and David Corenswet-starring Superman sequel is still more than a year out from its theatrical premiere, Eidinger is propping up his world-conquering bad guy as a threat of biblical proportions.
“Yes, the theatrical quality has actually helped me enormously in the context of Superman, too, because it involves a different register of performance, one that isn’t primarily realistic and allows for a far more expressive style of playing,” he said when asked how his work in theater has helped in onscreen. “When I watch a film like James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, I find it has a great theatrical quality — in the handling of good and evil, and in a certain tendency toward allegory. Brainiac is described as the incarnation of Satan. I find that almost Shakespearean. The king, the fool — there are so many parallels for me.”
Brainiac is not only a recognizable Superman villain; he’s one of the most infamous comic book characters in history. Readers and movie watchers have done their best to pick up on every little detail Gunn has dropped when it comes to teases for a DCU version of the mean, green antagonist, but the truth is, most information is probably being saved for closer to the release of Man of Tomorrow.
Eidinger says his Brainiac will give Corenswet’s Clark Kent a run for his money, even if we don’t know exactly how quite yet. Elsewhere in the interview, the actor opened up about how he was pulled into the budding DCU in the first place. He clarified that doing a comic book movie is “not as different” from his previous work on projects like Clouds of Sils Maria or Home for the Weekend as one might think. He even goes on to praise similar films for having “a serious philosophical ambition,” adding that “they carry great allegorical weight” for him.
“Take just the word ‘super’ — it’s used as a superlative, for something excellent, wonderful,” Eidinger continued. “But ‘super’ really only means ‘over’ or ‘above.’ So Superman is the Übermensch. You have the Super Ego. There’s already a deep psychological dimension built in.”
“Last week I was on set during rehearsals and asked if I could watch some of the filming, which had already started. And I saw an actor in the Superman costume, suspended on wires in front of a bluescreen. I looked at that image and thought: This is the essence of fiction. It’s as significant an image as Hamlet holding the skull: Superman, in that Superman pose, hanging from wires in front of a bluescreen.
“Being in the Superman universe wasn’t a dream or burning desire for me. But now that it’s happening, I can see a certain inevitability in it, something almost fated.”
Superman Man of Tomorrow will continue Gunn’s vision for a new DCU when it brings Corenswet back to the big screen July 9, 2027. Filming began in April, and its cast also includes Matthew Lillard, Andre Royo, Adria Arjona, and more. While we wait for updates, you can catch up on all of the latest from Supergirl ahead of its premiere in June.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
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https://www.ign.com/articles/man-of-tomorrow-brainiac-actor-compares-his-superman-villain-to-an-incarnation-of-satan
Michael Cripe
Almontather Rassoul
