Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2 received largely positive reviews from fans and critics, so the response to Supergirl must have taken DC Studios by surprise. With a "Rotten" 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's also the lowest-grossing DC movie since 2004's Catwoman, grossing a mere $125.8 million worldwide.
Behind-the-scenes issues plagued Supergirl, including apparent creative interference from DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn.
The movie was heavily inspired by Tom King and Bilquis Evely's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic book. Unfortunately, writer Ana Nogueira misinterpreted the ending, leading to sweeping changes, and director Craig Gillespie failed to adapt its breathtaking, colourful visuals.
When The Wrap spoke to King about Lanterns, they asked the writer—who is also developing a Mister Miracle TV series for DC Studios—for his thoughts on Supergirl. Unsurprisingly, he didn't exactly slate what was done to his and Evely's work and instead looked for the positives.
"That book started so small with so few people that believed in it, and even when it launched, it didn’t sell right off the bat, and it really was like wonderful nerds at comic book stores telling people about it and hand-selling it and talking about it and then posting about it. And that groundswell of support got it noticed. Now it’s like one of the bestselling comics of all time, and it all just came from literal word of mouth of people supporting a book they didn’t have to support."
"There’s this sense of, when I’m seeing the movie, what gratitude I have for those people. That’s a big emotion, and just seeing one of the planets is named after my daughter and getting teared up at that. So there’s that emotion. There’s the joy in Millie [Alcock]’s performance of embodying the rebellious nature of that character and how brilliantly she brought it to life. Every time it goes out in the world, I feel it’s like it’s a ticket to join comics. It’s a welcome to my industry, and that to me is pure joy."
The majority of fans and critics also praised Alcock's take on the Maid of Might, and the House of the Dragon star will get to take another crack at the character in next summer's Man of Tomorrow.
King wasn't creatively involved with Supergirl, but he's the showrunner for Mister Miracle and credited as co-creator on Lanterns. However, if a second season of the latter happens, both he and Damon Lindelof are expected to take a step back.
"Bad writing, gratuitous cameos, and uninspired visuals take us back to the bad old days of the DCEU in Supergirl, a showcase for the super-talented Milly Alcock, but Kryptonite to anyone who likes good superhero movies," we wrote in one of our reviews.
Supergirl is now available on Digital and arrives on 4K Blu-ray on September 8.