Despite our glowing review for the film, “Brightburn” has been a polarizing topic of debate among those at this site, as well as the general public at large. The film, with such an easy to explain premise (“What if Superman broke bad as a kid?”), gained quite a bit of buzz coming into its release earlier this year, but ultimately, didn’t leave much of a box office footprint, despite its low budget and mild expectations. Even still, it appears that discussions are happening about a potential sequel, according to producer James Gunn.
In a response to a fan on Instagram, the “Brightburn” producer explained that he’s a bit busy with other projects at the moment, but that a sequel to his superhero horror film isn’t out of the question.
“I think I’m tied up for the next few years with Suicide Squad and then Guardians, but we’re talking about the sequel,” said Gunn.
Normally, the idea of a superhero film produced by James Gunn would be a no-brainer for a studio like Sony. However, considering “Brightburn” only made $17 million domestically and $32 million worldwide, all signs pointed to the film’s sequel plans (which were hinted at in the credits) were likely dashed. Alas, it appears that at least the folks involved are having discussions.
As mentioned, the first film follows the young Brandon Breyers, who is an alien from a distant planet with all the powers of a young Superman. However, instead of uses those powers for good, he is evil and murders just about everyone in his path. The film ends with the tease that there are other superhumans just like Brandon that have been popping up all around the world with equally evil motivations. Basically, the film teased an evil version of “Justice League,” with a bad Aquaman and Wonder Woman specifically teased.
Even if you’re not a fan of “Brightburn” (and there’s no denying that it’s pretty light on actual plot past the premise), the idea of an evil superhuman team ripping people apart is interesting enough that a sequel isn’t a terrible idea. But again, does the box office and overall negative reviews warrant a spend? Likely not.
But hey, there’s a wee bit of hope.
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