Matthew Lillard Officially Teases Mystery Superman Man of Tomorrow Role

Published Oct 27, 2026, 2:59 PM EDT Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast. The Superman sequel could introduce Lillard to the DCU in an unexpected way Image: JoJo Whilden/Disney Sign in to your Polygon.com account Of all the new actors joining the cinematic DC Universe in next year's Man of Tomorrow, fans seem most invested in finding out which character Matthew Lillard will portray. Lillard (Carrie, Scream, Polygon's Shelf Quest) is set to appear in James Gunn's Superman sequel in an as-yet undisclosed role. There's already been one major fan theory that Gunn has shot down. Now, Lillard himself is giving one of the most unexpected hints about who he will play in the new DCU. In an interview with The Direct, Lillard described his appearance in Man of Tomorrow as "a very James Gunn moment." The actor added that he "wouldn't worry too much about finding [his character] in the comics." This relatively simple response seems to confirm the major detail that Lillard is likely portraying an original character, or that Gunn has dug deeply into the DC Comics archive to bring an obscure character to life. That certainly would be a surprise, as the hottest theory for a while was that he'd be Barry Allen, a role previously brought to the big screen by Ezra Miller. Gunn has created a handful of original characters in his many DC projects to date. One potential downside of Lillard playing an original character is that he may not become as prominent in the DC Universe as fans had hoped. What we know about James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow Image: Warner Bros. Even if we don't know who Lillard is playing, there's plenty of information about Man of Tomorrow to chew on. The sequel to 2025's Superman is slated for release on July 9, 2027. The movie seems to be making good progress, as Gunn revealed earlier this October that the assembly cut — essentially the film's first draft — had been completed. Man of Tomorrow will see Superman forming a tentative alliance with Lex Luthor to fight a bigger threat: the iconic villain Brainiac. David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult will reprise their roles as Clark Kent/Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively, with Lars Eidinger joining the cast as Brainiac. Other returning cast members from across the DCU include Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., María Gabriela de Faría as the Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Hitman and Andor actor Adria Arjona also stars in Man of Tomorrow, and her role is similarly shrouded in mystery.