Brightburn possibly refers to the town where Superman grew up
While Brightburn is a fictional town created by Brian and Mark Gunn, it serves as more than a backdrop to the story. Over time, Brandon’s identity as a supernatural force becomes synonymous with the city itself, and questions arise about how each of its elements has shaped his psyche. Coincidentally, Brightburn finds its closest similarity in another fictional town named Smallville. Best known as the childhood hometown of Superman, it was first established in 1949 and has since developed into a full-fledged location with a distinct geography and culture. Like Brightburn, Smallville is popularly described as a small town or rural community in Kansas, which adds credibility to this possible line of inspiration. The close-knit community of the respective towns and the emphasis on the country landscape also create a similar feeling, which is likely a deliberate decision on the creators’ end.
Although there are several partial overlaps between Brightburn and Smallville, no direct connection exists between the two cities. Thus, it is more likely that the writers of ‘Brightburn’ were simply exposed to the idea of Smallville and similar rural towns that are featured in superhero origin stories. From there, they proceed with an original approach, causing a state of chaos due to the actions of the city’s alien residents. Writers Brian and Mark Gunn described their intentions with the setting as subversion of genre conventions. He told Slash Film that “There’s a long tradition in comic books of superheroes being found in the woods and taken in by some parents and raised as if it were their own (…) We started asking ourselves what would happen if this kid grew up to be even more terrifying.”
Brightburn Town brought to life in the Peach State
While Brightburn is described as a Kansas town in the narrative, much of the film was filmed in the state of Georgia. Specifically, the crew set up camp in places such as Newnan, Jonesboro, and Stockbridge, taking a portion of their visual identity along the way. The film’s most prominent location, the Breyer residence, was filmed at a historic property in Newnan located at 2295 Poplar Road. Production designer Patrick M. Sullivan Jr. used the site’s lived-in aesthetic and added his personal touches to mimic the rustic atmosphere, making it geographically distinct. Similarly, the fictional local school Brightburn Eagles was filmed at the now-closed Patrick Henry High School, located at 109 St. Lee Street in Stockbridge. Reportedly, the school has also served as a filming location for ‘Stranger Things’, which shows its ability to perfectly capture the Midwestern aesthetic, while meeting the requirements of ‘Brightburn’.
As well as filming on site, the crew also created several imaginary signboards and even an ambulance to make Brightburn’s appearance as realistic as possible. However, given that the town in the story is set specifically in Kansas, Georgia only serves as a part of the film’s visual canvas. Notably, Burns is also the name of a small farming and ranching community in Kansas, and along with other similar areas of the state, such as the city of Burton, may have inspired the unique name of Brightburn. However, given how closely that tile is tied to other motifs in the story, it seems more likely that it is a completely original creation by the writing team and was designed with all the thematic layers in mind.
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