James Gunn may not have directed Brightburn (read our review), but his fingerprints are all over it. And it turns out that the David Yarovesky-directed film, which tells the tale of an alien boy (Jackson A. Dunn) who lands on earth and discovers that he is evil and has superpowers, has a few Easter eggs for fans of Gunn’s 2010 superhero film Super!
In that film, short-order cook Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson) becomes a superhero without having any superhuman abilities (calling himself the “Crimson Bolt”) after his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a drug dealer (Kevin Bacon). If you pay close attention, you’ll spot the Crimson Bolt in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo during the film’s end credits. Keep reading for the scoop!
***MASSIVE SPOILERS for Brightburn to follow***
During Brightburn’s final minutes, Tori (Elizabeth Banks) attempts to murder her super-villain son Brandon (Dunn) by stabbing him with a piece of his own ship (the only material capable of harming him). Unfortunately for her, he grabs her arm just as she is about to deliver the killing blow. Betrayed, he flies high into the sky above the clouds, bringing Tori with him. He then shares one last look with his mother before dropping her to the earth below. As he watches her fall, he notices a plane flying towards him.
Cut to the remnants of the Breyer farm, which has suspiciously been ravaged by a plane crash, leaving all of the passengers (and, according to the newscast playing over the carnage, both of Brandon’s parents) dead. Brandon is listed as the only survivor and the film ends.
During the closing credits of the film (set to Billie Eillish’s “Bad Guy“, no less), Michael Rooker makes a surprise cameo as a news anchor showing footage of a mysterious (to him) flying child wreaking havoc around the United States. While he’s speaking, several still images appear on screen showing other “super” heroes caught on camera and one of them is none other than the Crimson Bolt!
That wasn’t the only Super Easter egg in Brightburn. According to CinemaBlend, it was no coincidence that the diner in the film (that acts as the setting for one of Brightburn’s more memorable set pieces) was named Darbo’s Family Grill (that detail was missed by this writer). It looks like Frank opened up his own chain of diners following the events of his film!
Does this mean that Brightburn is in a shared universe with Super? Will Brandon and the Crimson Bolt face off in a future crossover film? Hopefully Brightburn‘s box office will take flight (sorry) so we can find out!
