Is Brightburn Inspired by a Real Kansas Town? Exploring the Film’s Setting Origins

Is Brightburn Based on a Real Town in Kansas?

Brightburn, the fictional town in the horror sci-fi film directed by David Yarovesky, is depicted as a rural Kansas community. The movie focuses on Brandon Breyer, an extraterrestrial child who grows up in this small town before revealing his sinister powers. Despite the vivid depiction, Brightburn does not correspond to an actual town in Kansas but draws inspiration from familiar Midwestern settings.

Brightburn’s creators, Brian and Mark Gunn, designed the town as more than just a backdrop—it symbolizes the impact of Brandon’s dark transformation on a tight-knit community. This fictional setting shares notable similarities with Smallville, Superman’s iconic Kansas hometown. Smallville has long been established in comic book lore as a small rural town and often serves as a narrative frame for superhero origins.

Several parallels exist between Brightburn and Smallville, such as the pastoral environment and close community influence. However, there is no direct link between these two towns. The writers aimed to subvert the classic superhero trope by imagining a town corrupted by an alien child who does not become a hero. As Brian Gunn explained to Slash Film, they wanted to explore “what would happen if this baby grew up to be something far more sinister.”

In reality, the filming locations for Brightburn were in Georgia, not Kansas. The production used towns like Newnan, Jonesboro, and Stockbridge to embody the Midwestern aesthetic. Notably, the Breyer family home scenes were shot at a historic property in Newnan, while the Brightburn Eagles school scenes took place in the former Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge. This school also served as a location for other productions, demonstrating its versatile Midwest look.

The name Brightburn could be loosely inspired by small Kansas communities such as Burns or Burrton, but there is no official connection. Instead, the town’s name and characteristics were likely crafted to support thematic elements of the story.

Overall, Brightburn represents a fictional amalgamation of small-town Kansas ethos seen through a dark, horror lens, rather than a real place. The filmmakers combined familiar cultural cues and environments to build a believable yet original setting essential to the narrative’s psychological tension.