What if Superman had turned out to be evil? That was the idea explored by director David Yarovesky’s super-powered horror film Brightburn, which was released back in 2019. Even though the movie made under $33 million at the global box office, the budget was low enough (somewhere in the range of 6 to 12 million) that producer James Gunn said they were talking about a sequel just a couple months after the film reached screens. Then four years went by, but last September production company The H Collective, which was also behind Brightburn, confirmed that a sequel is in development. If they are moving ahead with a Brightburn 2, they must be doing so without the involvement of Gunn, because when he was asked on Threads when we’ll be getting a Brightburn sequel, he replied, “No plans at all for this right now.“
Scripted by Gunn’s brother Brian Gunn and cousin Mark Gunn, Brightburn has the following synopsis: A couple’s prayers are seemingly answered when an object crash-lands on Earth, carrying a life-form that looks like a baby boy. As the years pass and the alien grows older, it starts to use its mysterious powers in sinister and destructive ways.
James Gunn’s Slither star Elizabeth Banks was also the star of this one, and was joined in the cast by David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Steve Agee, Becky Wahlstrom, Stephen Blackehart, and Meredith Hagner.
I did not like Brightburn at all myself, so it doesn’t mean anything to me whether or not a sequel gets made, but I know it went over well with a good number of genre fans.
Are you a fan of Brightburn, and have you been hoping to see Brightburn 2 make its way out into the world one of these days? Are you disappointed to hear that James Gunn has no plans of being involved with the sequel? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
The H Collective’s Brightburn 2 plans were revealed in announcement that they’re launching a new label called H3 Entertainment, which “intends to incorporate new technology into the production process of projects it has in development, including a sequel to horror movie Brightburn.” The new technology in question being AI, Metaverse, and Web3.
