Is Brightburn a real place? The town behind Netflix's horror sci-fi might surprise you and it’s not in Kansas
David Yarovesky's 'Brightburn' is grabbing major headlines after its Netflix debut on Monday, December 1. The movie, released in 2019, still lives rent-free in fans' minds, thanks to its gripping combo of superhero action and raw horror. Written by Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn, the action flick is set in the town of Brightburn, Kansas, where an extraterrestrial child grows up. While fans loved the film's intriguing narrative, many have also wondered whether the town of Brightburn is actually real.
Reportedly, Brightburn is a fictional rural Kansas town created for the movie, serving as the setting where extraterrestrial child Brandon Breyer (Jackson A Dunn) grows up and later unleashes his dark powers. Though inspired by familiar Midwestern communities, it isn't a real Kansas town; instead, writers Brian and Mark crafted it as a symbolic backdrop showing the community's unraveling as Brandon transforms. The setting also intentionally echoes Smallville, which is Superman's classic Kansas hometown, drawing thematic parallels between the two origin stories, as per QOO10 Media.
Notably, the towns Brightburn and Smallville share visual and thematic similarities, with both being rural, close-knit Kansas-style towns, but they aren't directly connected; the filmmakers intentionally flipped the classic superhero origin story by imagining, as the writer Brian Gunn put it, "what would happen if this baby grew up to be something far more sinister." Although set in Kansas, Brightburn was actually filmed in Georgia towns like Newnan, Jonesboro, and Stockbridge, whose landscapes convincingly mimicked the Midwest.
The town's name may loosely echo real Kansas places such as Burns or Burrton, but it has no official source. Talking about a 'Brightburn 2,' the talks of the sequel circulated for years, but in 2024, the project hit a disappointing dead end. Producer James Gunn confirmed on Threads that there were "no plans at all" for a sequel "right now," leaving the film's future uncertain.
Director Yarovesky also talked about the part in an interview with Collider, saying, "If we were to expand the Brightburn universe in other installments and in other ways, we would probably be doing it in the exact same way, in total secrecy, and then drop a cinematic trailer at some point that kind of teaches you what that new direction may be." But in March 2024, James confirmed on Threads that 'Brightburn 2' is not moving forward, explaining, "I mean, we talked about it early on. But the rights are all f****d up (I only own half), so it's unlikely that it will ever happen."
