Since the superhero genre is the most successful type of movie out there right now, studios are starting to play with the mythos, twisting and turning the origin stories we know into something fresh and unpredictable. Although it was greatly overshadowed by other May releases such as Aladdin, John Wick 3, and Endgame, the James Gunn-produced Brightburn told a horror-infused tale of the Superman story.
Amazon Prime also just released their most successful series to date: The Boys. In the superhero series, a Superman-esque leader of The Seven, Homelander, is a ruthlessly evil take on the all-powerful crime fighter. So naturally, one artist photoshopped an image of Brightburn’s Brandon Breyer, Antony Starr’s Homelander, and Henry Cavill as Injustice Superman. James Gunn digs it, take a look:
The Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director took to Instagram to re-share this artwork by @spdrmnkyxxiii. In the caption, he said “Crossover?” before plugging that Brightburn is now available on Digital. The Boys star Jack Quaid commented with “YEEESSSSSS”! So it’s official right? This is happening?
It’s an impressive concept to have these anti-Superman supermen all together in one photo. It certainly makes you think about their similarities and differences as characters who defy the Kryptonian’s origins. The Boys’ Homelander is at the forefront of a corrupt group of superheroes who abuse their powers and care little about humanity, despite their good press.
Brandon Breyer is a 12-year-old boy who was adopted by his farmer parents as a baby when they found him inside his crash-landed spaceship. Sound familiar? As his powers start to emerge, he starts to embrace them, but instead of being a force of good, he’s pure evil. It acts as a kind of reverse-Superman origin.
The movie’s mid-credit scene actually teased the potential of a sequel, maybe with reverse-origin stories of other heroes, such as Batman? However, Brightburn only made $32 million at the box office, on a $6 million production budget. Those numbers don’t scream sequel, but James Gunn has said there have been discussions about one, and Brightburn was made on a small budget.
Then there’s the matter of Henry Cavill’s Superman. It looks like he’s done playing the DC hero as plans for Justice League or another Man of Steel don’t seem to be in development. He allegedly recently said he’d come back to play the character if it was designed to "explore how it affects someone with absolute power." How better to do so than with Injustice’s Superman?
The comic book character is Superman from an alternate universe, who similarly to Brandon Breyer turned to the dark side with his fantastical powers and uses them for evil. Henry Cavill’s Superman has certainly explored the dark facets of Kal-El, and with Injustice’s Superman, Cavill could push this further and bring something new to the hero.
Would you like to see these heroes in an epic crossover? Who would win the fight? Let us know in the comments below!
