Movies - Supergirl – A Cosmic Anti-Heroine Takes Flight in DC Studios’ Boldest Gamble Yet

By Mulder, 08 february 2026

Supergirl promises to be much more than just a spin-off or extension of the new DC universe legacy; it is quickly establishing itself as a film with a message, clarifying the intention, tone, and ambition of the post-reboot era orchestrated by James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC Studios. Unveiled to a wide global audience thanks to a trailer aired during the Super Bowl that immediately sparked as much debate as enthusiasm, the film features Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, a version of Supergirl unlike anything seen on screen before. The new trailer presents a heroine forged by loss rather than hope, openly acknowledging her trauma, rage, and self-destructive tendencies. The now widely quoted line, delivered over a flaming glass of alcohol, is not a provocation for the sake of provocation; it is a statement of principle for a character who did not arrive on Earth as a baby spared from the death of her world, but as a witness to its slow and painful collapse. This creative pivot alone explains why Supergirl feels less like a Superman spin-off and more like a necessary counterpoint within chapter one of DCU: Gods and Monsters.

Directed by Craig Gillespie, whose filmography consistently balances raw character work with bold stylistic choices, Supergirl adapts Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the celebrated 2021–2022 comic miniseries by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, with a screenplay by Ana Nogueira that has repeatedly been praised internally for its emotional clarity and narrative ambition. While the comic’s episodic, almost mythic structure has been reshaped into a three-act cinematic framework, the core remains intact: Kara’s journey across the galaxy alongside her super-powered dog Krypto, and her reluctant bond with the young alien Ruthye Marye Knoll, played by Eve Ridley, whose father is murdered by the ruthless Krem of the Yellow Hills, portrayed by Matthias Schoenaerts. The resulting quest for revenge, explicitly described by DC Studios as “murderous,” evokes classic Western DNA—most notably True Grit, filtered through cosmic science fiction. Craig Gillespie himself has openly cited both Logan and the Western genre as tonal touchstones, framing the film as a road movie set in space, where violence, grief, and moral ambiguity replace the optimism traditionally associated with Kryptonian heroes.

Behind the scenes, Supergirl is equally emblematic of DC’s turbulent recent history and its recalibrated future. Initially conceived as part of the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, the project underwent multiple incarnations before being quietly canceled amid corporate upheaval following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger under David Zaslav. The arrival of James Gunn and Peter Safran in late 2022 not only resurrected the character but fundamentally redefined her place within the franchise. Their decision to move forward with Woman of Tomorrow as the second DCU film, an order change prompted by the strength of Ana Nogueira’s script, signals a willingness to foreground challenging, character-driven stories rather than relying solely on familiar iconography. That approach is further underscored by the casting of Milly Alcock, whose breakout work in House of the Dragon demonstrated precisely the edge, vulnerability, and volatility James Gunn has cited as essential to this interpretation of Kara Zor-El, deliberately distancing the character from earlier portrayals such as Melissa Benoist’s more earnest Arrowverse incarnation or Sasha Calle’s short-lived DCEU debut in The Flash.

Production-wise, Supergirl has been mounted as a major cinematic event without succumbing to unchecked spectacle. Filmed between January and May 2025 at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, across London, Scotland, and additional European locations, the film employs IMAX cameras under the eye of cinematographer Rob Hardy, with action sequences visually modulated to reflect Kara’s emotional state—frenetic and aggressive during moments of rage, fluid and expansive during rare moments of calm. Costume designer Anna B. Sheppard and production designer Neil Lamont have crafted a universe that visibly contrasts with Superman, down to the wear-and-tear of Kara’s suit, reinforcing the idea of a heroine shaped by harsher experiences and fewer moral safety nets. That thematic distinction was crystallized in the film’s first poster, released in July 2025, showing Supergirl leaning against the iconic Superman emblem while the hopeful tagline “Look Up” is graffitied into the more confrontational “Look Out,” a visual shorthand that immediately communicated tonal divergence to fans and commentators alike.

The cast surrounding Milly Alcock further enriches the film’s dramatic weight. David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham portray Kara’s parents, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze, grounding the cosmic narrative in familial tragedy, while Jason Momoa makes a heavily discussed cameo appearance as Lobo, a character not present in the original comic but incorporated here to support the film’s three-act structure and to explore a rougher, morally flexible dynamic reminiscent of classic Western pairings. Additional appearances by David Corenswet as Kal-El / Superman, Ferdinand Kingsley as Elias Knoll, Diarmaid Murtagh as Drom Baxton, and a reported voice cameo by Seth Rogen reinforce the sense that Supergirl is fully embedded within the DCU’s connective tissue, even as it insists on its own identity. Musically, the score is composed by Tom Holkenborg, whose return to DC follows an earlier attachment by Ramin Djawadi, promising a soundscape that blends operatic scale with harsher, more industrial textures befitting Kara’s journey.

Early reactions from private test screenings, while tightly controlled, suggest a film that fully commits to its vision. Milly Alcock’s performance has been consistently highlighted as a standout, while the use of needle drops echoing James Gunn’s earlier work on Guardians of the Galaxy has drawn both praise and cautious skepticism regarding stylistic overlap. Critics and journalists have already begun debating whether Supergirl risks leaning too heavily on Gunn’s musical and tonal signatures, yet even the most hesitant voices acknowledge that the character herself feels distinct, confrontational, and emotionally raw in a way rarely afforded to female superheroes on this scale.

Scheduled for release on June 24, 2026 in France and June 26, 2026 in the United States, Supergirl arrives with the weight of expectation and the freedom of reinvention. Positioned firmly within DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, the film does not simply ask audiences to embrace a new Supergirl; it challenges them to accept that heroism, in this universe, can be messy, painful, and forged in vengeance as much as virtue. If Superman invites viewers to look up, Supergirl dares them to look closer—and perhaps, a little uncomfortably, inward.

Synopsis :
When a ruthless and unexpected adversary threatens her world, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly teams up with an unlikely companion and embarks on a cosmic odyssey where justice and vengeance collide.

Supergirl
Directed by Craig Gillespie
Written by Ana Nogueira
Based on Characters from DC
Produced by James Gunn, Peter Safran
Starring Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, Jason Momoa
Cinematography : Rob Hardy
Edited by Tatiana S. Riegel
Music by Tom Holkenborg
Production companies : DC Studios, Troll Court Entertainment, The Safran Company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date : June 24, 2026 (France), June 26, 2026 (United States)