A lot of conflicting reports regarding the future of certain DC Extended Universe projects have emerged in recent weeks. Specifically, the debate over a potential "Man of Steel" sequel has taken center stage.
Earlier today, Heroic Hollywood reported that Warner Bros. was moving forward with "Man of Steel 2" and that iconic Superman villain Brainiac would be the big bad (and would be joined in the movie by Supergirl and Bizarro). Previously, "Man of Steel 2" was thought to be on the backburner due to mixed critical reception and a somewhat underwhelming box office performance (WB projected around $1 billion instead of the $660 million worldwide it actually made) of the first film.
Today comes a new report from Birth. Movies. Death. (which has been more reliable than HH in the past) that WB has bigger plans for Brainiac than a simple "Man of Steel" follow up.
"Every whisper I hear about Justice League contains the words, 'Brainiac,'" Devin Faraci wrote. "I suspect elements of this story were cannibalized for the eventual team-up as well as BvS, whose main physical threat is, I believe, a cross between traditional Bizarro and another well-known Superman villain."
That other villain is Doomsday, an enemy that will be harvested from the DNA of the deceased General Zod by Lex Luthor.
If you piece together all of the rumors and back channeling, it sounds as if HH's report could have been accurate before Warner Bros. decided to scrap their "Man of Steel" sequel. Now that the studio is diving right into the team up films and presumably holding off on a Superman follow up it makes sense that they would save Brainiac, whose only live action portrayal was in The CW series "Smallville," for the "Justice League" series.
However, this new report does further suggest long simmering rumors of dysfunction behind the scenes at Warner Bros. The studio has been whispered to have very little long-term plans in place for their DC properties while lacking a singular guiding force like Marvel has with Kevin Feige to maintain continuity.
What do you think, DC fans? Do you want to see Brainiac take on the Justice League or were you hoping for a "Man of Steel" sequel? Let us know in the comments section below.
