To now, this is all we have learned about Brightburn 2. Brightburn is an unofficial re-imagining of Superman, produced by James Gunn and directed by David Yarovesky (The Hive), that explores the subject, “What if the Man of Steel had gone down a dark and violent path when he was a child?”
A young extraterrestrial named Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) lives a normal life in small-town Kansas until he realises he has superpowers, much to the traditional Superman origin tale. Unlike Clark Kent/Kal-El, however, Brandon thinks his superpowers make him better than humans and uses them to kill his adoptive family before turning his wrath on the rest of humanity.
Brightburn is largely self-contained; there isn’t much in the way of clear sequel buildup. After the credits roll, though, it’s evident that Gunn, Yarovesky, and writers Brian and Mark Gunn (James’ brother and cousin) have more in mind than just a single “What if?” film about a villainous version of Superman (or Superboy).
Exactly what would the plot of Brightburn 2 be, though? After all, by the time the credits roll at the end of the first film to the tune of (appropriately) Billie Ellish’s “Bad Guy,” the majority of the primary characters have already been killed off.
It turns out there’s a post-credits scene in Brightburn that reveals major narrative details regarding the sequel, including the potential appearance of other villainous takes on DC’s most popular characters. So, let’s review what we know about Brightburn 2, from the information in the film’s stinger to the likelihood of a sequel really being made.
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For the Next Installment, Brightburn Organises an Evil Justice League.
At the end of Brightburn, we see a montage of news clips about Brandon (now known as Brightburn after his hometown) wreaking havoc, intercut with clips from a YouTube conspiracy theory show hosted by a character named The Big T (James Gunn’s frequent collaborator Michael Rooker), who is a parody of Alex Jones.
Big T reveals that Brightburn isn’t the only being with extraordinary abilities in the world. Instead, there are supposedly other, equally superhuman serial killers in the world, such as a half-sea creature, half-man monster who sinks ships and a witch who uses rope to choke people into telling the truth.
This means that in the Brightburn reality, Aquaman and Wonder Woman have malevolent counterparts. The stage is set for Brightburn 2 to contain a villainous Justice League, complete with its own take on DC’s Trinity and associated superheroes (characters like Cyborg, for example, would be perfect candidates for a body horror makeover in this pantheon).
The sequel may go in a number of different directions from there, such as a story about the tensions that arise when Brightburn and his peers try to agree on a strategy for global dominance.
There’s also the chance that Brightburn and the other super-villains have to work together in an inversion of the Justice League movie from 2017. In the follow-up, “Unite the League” could be interpreted in a number of different ways.
The Status of Brightburn 2 Is Pending.
Sony and Screen Gems haven’t announced whether or not production on Brightburn 2 will continue at this time. The first film’s estimated $6-12 million budget is likely to be covered after its first weekend of worldwide box office earnings of $17.3 million.
Critics and audiences have had mixed to good reactions, so it may be easier to tell if the word of mouth is there after next week’s showing. Regardless, Brightburn hasn’t been a smashing hit for Sony right out of the gate, so it may be a bit before we hear anything about a sequel (if Sony even decides to develop one).
Sony is one of the forces helping Brightburn 2 succeed. The studio’s biggest franchises, including horror trademarks like The Grudge, will be revived over the next two years. Blumhouse’s planned remake of the horror film Fantasy Island is one example; a sequel to this year’s low-budget horror blockbuster, Escape Room, is set for release in April 2020.
Sony’s future lineup of horror movies might benefit from Brightburn 2’s evil superhero twist. Even if it gets the go-ahead, it won’t likely have a quick production cycle (a la Escape Room 2).
Is There a Possible Release Date for Brightburn?
It’s tough to put a precise release date for Brightburn 2. James Gunn has announced that work on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will begin in 2020, even as he begins pre-production on The Suicide Squad.
That wouldn’t allow him much time, even as a producer and creative consultant solely, to devote to a Brightburn sequel between comic book adaptations. However, now that the Brightburn universe has been established, Gunn may be less involved in the film and allow his family and Yarovesky to figure out the plot in their own time.
It’s safe to say that Brightburn 2 won’t be released in 2020. Next year, Sony will release a slew of films, including Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters, Morbius the Living Vampire, and Venom 2, all of which have a strong horror element.
Even if Yarovesky and his authors could finish up the sequel to Brightburn in the next year to year and a half, there wouldn’t be much time left over. The production of the sequel is expected to take longer than that of the original (refer back to the entire wicked Justice League setup), thus a release in 2021 or 2022 seems more likely.
