Lars Eidinger makes his Hollywood breakthrough: As Brainiac, he takes on Superman in “Man of Tomorrow”. James Gunn confirms the sensational cast.
Lars Eidinger has achieved what many German actors dream of: making the leap to Hollywood. In the new “Superman” film he will be part of the DC universe and portray the supervillain Brainiac. The 49-year-old is taking on the hero and succeeds Nicholas Hoult, who played Lex Luthor in the film “Superman: Legacy”.
“DCU” maker James Gunn also commented on the cast. “In our global search to cast Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow, Lars Eidinger has made it to the top,” the director said on Instagram. It continued: “Welcome to the DCU, Lars.”
James Gunn has been redesigning the “DCU” for some time now. Last year he dared to reboot the “Superman” series and had a global hit with “Superman: Legacy”. The new spin-off “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” is scheduled to open in US cinemas in July 2027.
Talented character actor
This is not the first international role for Lars Eidinger. He was last seen in a smaller role in the drama “Jay Kelly” alongside George Clooney. In Germany he has been one of the top actors in the industry for years and is considered a versatile character actor. In addition to awards for his theater work, he was also able to impress in films and series, for example in titles such as “Babylon Berlin”, “25 km/h” or Tatort. He has also worked as a DJ for MUEIKEXPRESS parties.
Iconic German villains in Hollywood
Lars Eidinger is not the first German to conquer Hollywood as a villain. Before him, German actors were already in demand as villains in world-famous films and series. In the “James Bond” series, for example, German actors regularly competed against the 007 agent. In “Goldfinger” from 1964, Gerd Fröbe played the sadistic and megalomaniacal adversary Auric Goldfinger and achieved worldwide fame.
But it’s not just German actors who play villains in Hollywood. There are also famous opponents who are of German nationality. For example, Hans Gruber in the first part of the “Die Hard” series. The terrorist is played by the Brit Alan Rickman, but he plays a typical German villain: serious, humorless.
The ME top 10 of German villains in Hollywood
- Hans Gruber (“Die Hard”) – German terrorist, played by Alan Rickman
- Auric Goldfinger (“Goldfinger”) played by Gert Fröbe
- Amon Göth (“Schindler’s List”) – German concentration camp guard, played by Ralph Fiennes
- Johann “Red Skull” Schmidt (“Captain America: The first Avenger”) – German Nazi supervillain. Played by Hugo Waeving.
- Major Dieter Hellstrom (“Inglorious Bastards”) played by August Diehl
- Major Arnold Thodt (“Indiana Jones-Raiders of the Lost Ark”) – Fanatical Nazi agent, played by Ronald Lacey
- Dr. Elsa Schneider (“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”) – unscrupulous archaeologist with Nazi connections, played by Alison Doody
- Baron Helmut Zemo (“The first Avenger: Civil War”) – played by Daniel Brühl
- Dr.Otto Octavius/Doc Ock (“Spider-Man 2”) – the character in the film has German roots, played by Alfred Molina
- Dr. Christian Szell (“The Marathon Man”) – former Nazi and German war criminal, played by Laurence Olivier