Braniac star says it's a "true miracle" that he was cast in Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow

German actor Lars Eidinger says he "can hardly believe" he'll be playing DC villain Brainiac in Superman 2, having previously given up his dream of being in a Hollywood movie.

Talking to TikTok interviewer DieShowMitChris from the Medienboard Party at the Berlin International Film Festival 2026, the actor candidly said: "For me, it's a true miracle. It's truly a miracle that it happened, and I would venture to say that every actor, every actress in Germany, there is a secret hope that one day the call from Hollywood will come.

"I always thought, 'I'm 50 now. Okay, that's it.' Then it suddenly happened, and it all went relatively quickly, didn't it?" Eidinger, whose past credits include Personal Shopper and Sense8. "I really can hardly believe it. But it's not then, like, 'Snap' and you're sitting on a beach in LA. First we'll film the movie. I'm very excited."

Officially titled Man of Tomorrow, the Superman follow-up will see James Gunn return to the director's chair, as David Corenswet's Kryptonian forges an awkward alliance with his former nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) to thwart the plans of Eidinger's Brainiac. It'll likely explore the fallout from Luthor's team-up with Rick Flag Sr at the end of Peacemaker season 2, too, which saw the metahuman-hating duo create Salvation, a planet used as a prison for such individuals.

"People should expect that [this other] dimension is gonna be a part of DCU stories going forward," he told Rolling Stone. "And not just a tertiary, 'Oh, this is Arkham' – it's a part of the stories. There's an escalating war, obviously, that's going on between the government and metahumans. And this is a part of it."

Man of Tomorrow releases on July 9, 2027. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.