There are two enormous Marvel superhero movies arriving this year, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday, both likely to gross a billion at the box office or more. But the first DCU film out in 2026, Supergirl, is starting to feel like it may have a very rocky road ahead of it. At this point, I’m a bit concerned that this is going to land well among fans, and as such, be a draw at the box office, especially in the wake of the first DCU, full-on Superman movie doing okay at best in the context of its release.
We are only a month away from the release of Supergirl, and buzz does not feel like it’s building much online. While I think most would agree that House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock feels like a very solid pick for the role, everything else seems a bit…off.
I’ll point first to a brand new interview from Variety, in which director Craig Gillespie talks about how she’ll be portrayed in the film:
“Though Alcock had worn the Supergirl costume in Superman, that wouldn’t be the dress code while she’s getting sloppy in another galaxy — thus the Blondie T-shirt. “Which is what she wears all the time in the film,” Gillespie says. “There’s absolutely no makeup. And she’s making absolutely no effort with her appearance — that’s not her priority. And she’s not in a good mood!”
Then, Alcock:
“When I ask Alcock at what point in the movie Kara puts on the Supergirl suit, she says, “I don’t know if I can tell you!” But I press. “It’s DC — I’m scared,” she says, not wanting to spoil. “But I don’t wear it as much as people will think. It’s a journey.”
There’s an annoyance among comic book fans especially about the concept of “Surf Dracula,” the idea of a movie about a surfing Dracula who does not actually surf until the final moments of the film. And more directly, movies or shows that delay the final reveal of costumes until it’s “earned.” That appears to be what’s happening here, even though this film is meant to be inspired by Tom King’s Woman of Tomorrow, where she is…effectively wearing the suit the entire time.
The storyline has not come off as terribly coherent in its initial trailers, partially about Kara saving her dog Krypto, but also her being on a “murderous quest of revenge.” I also think an issue with the film is its villain, Krem, who A) doesn’t look much like his comic counterpart at all, and looks just…extremely weird at baseline, and B) almost no one seeing this movie is going to know who Krem even is, despite his comic lore. I’m of the opinion that in movies like this, especially one introducing a character, you can’t just have a good hero; you need a good villain. Superman had Lex Luthor; this has…Krem.
There is a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe to all this, the rock and roll chaos of those films found here. That’s an example of what used to be little-known comic characters brought to life by James Gunn, but while Gunn is overseeing this movie, he isn’t writing or directing it. Craig Gillespie’s biggest movies in the last ten years have been Cruella and I, Tonya and not much else. Not to say he can’t turn out a great product, and Gunn clearly picked him for a reason, but that reason is not immediately clear from the outside.
James Gunn has shot down the reports that the movie was made for $200 million, and it’s reportedly less than that. But with Superman itself making $618 million globally, I would be somewhat amazed if Supergirl made half that. Profitable, perhaps, but in the $300-400 million range, we’re talking DCEU Black Adam, Shazam! and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom numbers. Not great. As for Marvel, movies making that much would be considered something of a disaster.
I just have a bad feeling about this. Perhaps that’s unjustified, but in general, I’m not sure I agree with Gunn’s hodgepodge concept of the DCU in terms of universe building, as we now head toward a Green Lantern TV show (again, little emphasis on costumes there) and a Clayface movie this fall. I’ll be seated for that due to horror legend Mike Flanagan’s involvement, but you’re still making the third DCU movie…a Clayface movie. In any case, hopefully, Supergirl does in fact land well, and the DCU will be able to pick up steam after that. I just have my doubts.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.