Last year, amongst many other comic book movies, Guardians of The Galaxy director James Gunn and director David Yarovesky released Brightburn, their dark interpretation of a Superman-like story of a young boy who’s ship crashes on earth and is raised by two farmers. Many aspects of the story were similar to Clark Kent’s, apart from one: the boy’s nature was much darker than Clark Kent, resulting in him causing multiple horrors and numerous deaths throughout the movie.
As usual with these stand-alone movies, fans have started theorizing about connected universes with some of Gunn’s other movies, some are plausible, while others are fairly far-fetched. Here are 9 fan theories that have been circling the web since the film’s release.
Plausible: Brandon Is A Weapon
![Brightburn: 5 Plausible Fan Theories (& 4 That Are Too Ridiculous)](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Jackson-A-Dunn-in-Brightburn.jpg)
As Clark Kent was sent to earth in Man of Steel to be the bridge between two worlds, Reddit user ChancePainting suggests that Brandon, the main character in Brightburn, was actually sent to Earth as a weapon instead of a hero.
The theory also suggests that Brandon may not even have known what his true purpose on Earth was and when the ship spoke to him it was a method of mind control by his own people to take over Earth. This could also suggest that perhaps Brandon’s home planet was not destroyed as some fans may think, perhaps his people still exist on their planet but want to dominate others as well.
Ridiculous: Brandon Is General Zod
![Brightburn and Henry Cavill as Superman](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Brightburn-and-Henry-Cavill-as-Superman.jpg)
Many readers will know general Zod as the Kryptonian enemy of Clark Kent. Well, Reddit user TheWolfLord2294 is suggesting that Brandon is actually general Zod in its own self-contained universe. His reasoning being that Zod is evil, as is Brandon, he could have previously been in the Phantom Zone and his dark nature could be the result of bullying, which Clark Kent would be able to handle without going full-scale evil alien.
Never say never when it comes to fan theories but the chances of Brandon being General Zod are unlikely. It seems like the kind of thing that would be revealed at the end of the movie in a shocking and revealing final moment. Brightburn was no doubt inspired by the Superman story, but inspiration is where it most likely ends.
Plausible: Brightburn Will Follow The Shayamalan Formula
![Brightburn James McAvoy Split](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/split.jpg)
When Bruce Willis appeared at the end of Split it confirmed a Shayamalan shared universe between it and the movie Glass starring Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Reddit User DarrylTheDudeWayne proposes that Gunn took notes from the Unbreakable trilogy and that Brightburn will be part of a bigger universe.
This theory could easily be true, perhaps Brightburn could be the start of a much larger universe. Unfortunately, this is something that won’t be confirmed for years to come, and even then James Gunn is notorious for including easter eggs in his movies such as one of the aliens from Slither appearing in Guardians of The Galaxy, so even if there is a reference, it might not guarantee a shared universe.
Ridiculous: Love Is Brandon’s Weakness
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Brightburn-logo-and-Elizabeth-Banks.jpg)
Even non-comic book fans will know that Superman is impervious to Kryptonite, a radioactive piece of his homeworld. Well, Reddit User AdamSmasherTime has come up with the theory that love is Brandon’s true weakness. Viewers of the movie will know that Brandon killed his mother by dropping her out of the sky. AdamSmasherTime suggests that he did this because his powers are weakened by love.
His evidence is fairly sound by bringing up that he used his laser vision to kill his unloving father, but not his mother because his mother loved him so he was unable to physically harm her. That being said, Brandon flew up to the sky with the intention to drop his mother, so would his flight power not have weakened as he flew higher? His mother still loved him at this point but he managed to fly higher without an issue.
Plausible: A Mirrored DC Universe
![Evil Justice League Ultraman Comic](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Evil-Justice-League-Ultraman-Comic.jpg)
The classic DC lore is as follows, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg are all heroes; Lex Luthor, and The Joker, amongst others, are villains. Since this movie gave fans an evil take on Superman, could it be true that they could be getting a mirrored DC universe where there are villains who are similarily powered to the Justice League, and heroes embodied by characters similar to Lex Luthor and The Joker? Not dissimilar to the Injustice DC storyline.
Again, this is a theory, by R_o_man, that fans will have to wait for a while to see if it plays out. Who knows if it’s something fans will be interested in, but it’s an intriguing idea for something different. There are some connections to the DC universe you may have missed.
Ridiculous: Brandon Is Homelander
![Antony Starr as Homelander in The Boys](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Antony-Starr-as-Homelander-in-The-Boys-2.jpg)
In a time when the “multiverse” theory is used in many TV shows, one twitter user, @jbsuperman, suggests that Homelander is Brandon. He also suggests that Vaught experimented on Brandon and this is how compound V was created, it’s already circulating the web in some fan art.
A very intriguing fan theory, and one that would be kind of cool if it was true. There are definitely some connections to the two projects such as the gore-filled nature of the VFX and the fact that Brandon and Homelander do look very similar, but is it likely? No. Amazon has their universe, Gunn has his. Brightburn is also set in the mid-2000s to mid-2010s, making Homelander only a teenager in The Boys, which seems unlikely.
Plausible: Brightburn – Super Shared Universe
![Rainn Wilson putting up flyers in Super](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Rainn-Wilson-in-Super.jpg)
Super was released in 2010 and was directed by James Gunn, one of the producers of Brightburn. During the credits of the movie, Michael Rooker appears as a news reporter/blogger who warns the public of the super-powered beings who he believes are planning to take over the world.
One of the 6 photos that appear on the screen to his side includes Rainn Wilson as The Crimson Bolt, who was the main character in Super. As mentioned above, Gunn includes references to his other projects in his movies so this could be a throw-away reference, but could just as easily be proof of a shared universe.
Ridiculous: Brightburn – Hancock Shared Universe
![Will Smith looks up at the sky in Hancock](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hancock-Cropped.jpg)
Fans may remember Will Smith’s appearance as the titular character in Hancock back in 2008. Well, now The Angry Joe Show is suggesting that Hancock and Brightburn share a cinematic universe. His reasoning is as follows: both properties belonged to Sony, there were no cell phones in Brightburn so it was set in an earlier time therefore, Brandon would be an adult by now and the Wiki page for Hancock said they were looking for a big bad for the sequel.
A Hancock Vs. Brandon movie is damn intriguing, and one that a lot of people would like to see. However, just because a studio owns two properties, does not guarantee the two are connected in the same universe. Also, there has been zero news of a sequel to Hancock. It seems highly unlikely, but never say never, Will Smith could return as Hancock to face off against Brandon and other villains in Brightburn 2 who knows.
Plausible: Brightburn’s Justice League
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/super.jpg)
It is shown at one point in the movie that Brandon’s ship was one of six meteors that crashed on earth. This has sparked some theories online, such as that suggested by Reddit user DespacitoStreet2007, that there will be some sort of Brightburn universe Justice League, and that the other five characters have still to be revealed. This theory has been endorsed by one of the stars of the movie.
The six meteors do present an intriguing argument for more evil-super powered beings within the Brightburn universe, however, of the six photos presented by Michael Rooker’s character, one is The Crimson Bolt from Super, but he was not an alien, putting into question whether the meteors carried other beings or not.