Released in 2019, Brightburn is a horror version of a Superman origin story. It follows a 12-year-old boy named Brandon who lives in rural Kansas, and who discovers that he has superpowers.
But instead of using his powers for good, he uses them to do great harm (and to murder) people who cross him. The movie ends with a great tease for a sequel that was actually talked about for a while.
James Gunn was a producer of Brightburn. His brother Brian Gunn and cousin Mark Gunn wrote the movie, which was directed by David Yarovesky.
Gunn made a post in 2024 saying that the rights to Brightburn are split, and that he owns half. He said that a sequel is “unlikely.” But now that James is heading out of DC Studios, maybe some sort of agreement could be made to get a Brightburn franchise back on track. Maybe? I’d love to see it. We need more horror in the superhero genre.
I doubt James would want to move over from one franchise to another, because it sounds like he’s eager to focus just on making movies again rather than managing an IP. But, maybe just one movie. And maybe that leads to another. And then who knows.
