The DCU will be expanding in 2026 with Supergirl. The movie—written by Ana Nogueira—stars Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El and is directed by Craig Gillespie, who helmed I,Tonya, starring Margot Robbie, and Cruella with Emma Stone. DC Studios' next big-screen offering is an adaptation of 2021's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, drawn by Bilquis Evely and written by Tom King. Aside from the change of having Jason Momoa's Lobo play a role in the story, the film is expected to be a fairly faithful take on its source material.
Adapting a character with as much history as Kara Zor-El can be tricky, particularly for someone not versed in the subject. Turns out director Craig Gillespie was not familiar with the source material prior to tackling the project. Thankfully, he had the right tools to helm the feature. The Supergirl trailer was recently released to the public online, but it was screened days prior at a press conference, where Gillespie and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn were in attendance.
There, the director revealed (via Screen Rant) he wasn't familiar with Supergirl's mythology, and as such, decided to read Ana Nogueira's Supergirl script prior to reading Woman of Tomorrow:
"I very deliberately read Ana's script before I read the comic, because I wanted to see how that would hold up." The director explained he "didn't know anything about this, like, the Supergirl lore." As such, he felt that made him the ideal type of viewer for the movie, as he further explained: "[I] was kind of a perfect audience for it, because any questions that I did have, I could ask, but she did an amazing job of working that narrative."
The director further stated: "It was quite clear to me what was going on." Gillespie also made a point to commend screenwriter Ana Nogueira for the way she adapted the storyline, stating (via DC.com): "I know we keep mentioning the Tom King book, but she really took it to a different place as well. So, for everybody thumbing through that Tom King novel right now, it's different."
Supergirl is an important milestone for DC Studios and the superhero genre as a whole, given that it will be one of the first straight adaptations of a specific comic book run. Films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War adapted major storylines and concepts from their source material.
Batman v Superman, for example, took elements from the Death of Superman and The Dark Knight Returns. The third Captain America film adapted the Civil War storyline from the comics, and Infinity War brought to life Silver Surfer crash-landing on Earth to warn of Thanos' arrival, but replaced him with the Hulk. Despite these elements, none of the films were straight adaptations of their source material. Instead, they were inspired by it, taking its basic concepts and building new stories around them.
Craig Gillespie's Supergirl, on the other hand, from everything that's come out about it (it was originally titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, for starters), seems to be a very faithful adaptation of it source story. The comic is one of DC's most critically acclaimed works in recent years. Having a film taking that story as the basis for its plot is an exciting proposition, particularly given the creative team behind it, and its star, Milly Alcock.
Speaking to Variety, screenwriter Ana Nogueira explained that Supergirl initially didn't make sense to her: "She watched Krypton completely be destroyed. I was always like, 'I can't get my head around the version of the character that is so sunny.'" However, things changed when she read Woman of Tomorrow, which was a "rougher, and grittier, and edgier, and funnier" take on the character. The writer stated: "When I read it, I was like, 'There she is.'"
Supergirl will fly into theaters on June 26, 2026.
What do you think about Craig Gillespie's Supergirl perspective? Are you excited about the film? Drop your thoughts in the comments!