James Gunn didn’t direct Brightburn — he’s only listed as a producer — but the film, an evil twist on the Superman lore, appears to hold one of his pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe trademarks. Which is to say, it’s violent. Very violent.
In the red-band clip above, unhelpfully titled “Extended Diner Scene,” a waitress is cleaning and closing up a restaurant when a weird stacked-diamonds symbol appears on the windows. It’s the one that we’ve seen a young boy named Brandon (played by Jackson A. Dunn), the adopted son of Tori and Kyle Breyer (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman), draw in Brightburn‘s trailers. It’s also bad news for the poor waitress, who… let’s just say that if you can’t handle eye injuries, this might not be the movie for you. For everyone else: please enjoy!
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? With Brightburn, the filmmaker of Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.
Written by Mark and Brian Gunn, Brightburn opens on May 24. As for brother James, his next film is The Suicide Squad (August 6, 2021) followed by, at some point, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
