Brightburn 2: James Gunn Reveals The Real Reason The Sequel May Never Happen

"Brightburn" was a moderately successful horror knock-off of the superhero genre, with the titular characters being a murderous version of Superman. It was an ideal horror movie for fans of "The Boys" to watch, grossing $33 million against a $6 million budget, so the idea of a sequel to capitalize on that success wouldn't be unheard of. Unfortunately, any plans for "Brightburn 2" seem deader than most of the characters from the first movie.

In a post on Threads, James Gunn, who produced "Brightburn," was asked about the future of the prospective franchise. He responded, "I mean we talked about it early on. But the rights are all f***ed up (I only own half) so it's unlikely that it will ever happen." The last report of "Brightburn 2" kickstarted rumors the sequel script would be written by AI, but Gunn quickly debunked that. AI or not, the report suggested there were plans for a follow-up at some point, but the latest development suggests it would be too complicated to come to fruition. 

While Gunn owns half of the rights, it's unclear who owns the other half (or if it's divided even further). One could surmise the other half would belong to the production company, The H Collective. It worked on the first film and subsequently launched H3 Entertainment, which mentioned bringing AI into various projects. Regardless of what's going on with the rights, "Brightburn 2" remains grounded for now.

Another reason why James Gunn may not be chomping at the bit to get "Brightburn 2" off the ground is he has his hands full spearheading the new direction of the DC cinematic universe. In addition to being a co-CEO of DC Studios, Gunn will direct "Superman," set to be released on July 11, 2025. Ultimately, Gunn may be too busy to worry about a sequel to a modest horror movie, but plenty of fans would like to step back into this twisted superhero universe, including the star of the movie, Jackson A. Dunn, who played Brandon Breyer, aka Brightburn.

Back in 2019, Dunn spoke with Screen Rant about his desire to return for a sequel. "I know there's definitely some buzz about it in the media, but I don't know any more than the average person, but I'd love to be a part of it," he said. "I'd love to see where it could be taken, for sure." And he'd theoretically have some backup in a sequel, as the mid-credits scene of "Brightburn" teased a half-man, half-sea creature entity and a woman choking people with rope, which are clear nods to Aquaman and Wonder Woman, respectively.

Between "The Boys" and "Invincible," there are still plenty of evil Superman stories out there, and maybe Gunn just wants to clear a path for his "Superman"  movie to bring the character back into the public's good graces. There were even rumors an evil Superman clone would be the villain of his movie, but Gunn shot those down too. As long as James Gunn has social media, baseless rumors don't stand a chance.