When Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow soars into theaters on June 26, 2026, DC Studios promises a very different Kryptonian than audiences have seen before. Based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s acclaimed 2021–2022 comic series, the film is set to reimagine Kara Zor-El as a far more hardcore and battle-hardened hero than her famous cousin, Superman - a version James Gunn says is “not exactly the Supergirl we’re used to seeing.”
Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) takes on the mantle of Kara, who will debut first in Superman before headlining her own solo adventure. In this incarnation, Supergirl is defined not by the pastoral Kansas upbringing that shaped Clark Kent, but by the brutal survival of her early life: raised on a fragment of Krypton, watching everyone around her die in horrific ways during her first fourteen years, and then arriving on Earth already hardened. Gunn and DC co-head Peter Safran see this as a bold counterpoint to Superman’s optimism which audiences saw a year ealier in July 2025. Supergirl will be a character forged in trauma, desperate to define herself outside of her cousin’s shadow.
The film’s story is set to follow Kara as she’s reluctantly drawn into a quest for vengeance by Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), a young alien whose father was murdered by Krem of the Yellow Hills. The narrative - a “mentor-mentee journey on revenge” inspired by True Grit - will take Kara, Ruthye, and Krypto the Superdog across deep space on what Gunn calls “a big science fiction epic film.” Jason Momoa also joins the DCU as Lobo in his cinematic debut!
Kara’s comic and film history has been as varied as her personality. First introduced in 1959, she has been portrayed by Helen Slater, Melissa Benoist, Malina Weissman, Adrianne Palicki, and most recently Sasha Calle in The Flash (2023). Over the decades she’s been a plucky teen hero, a brash young warrior, and even the darker “Red Lantern” Supergirl after suffering from undiagnosed Kryptonite poisoning caused by thirty years trapped in its radiation. This cinematic take seems poised to lean into that darker streak - one born from survivor’s guilt, aggression, and a need to establish herself as more than Superman’s apprentice.
Supporting characters from Kara’s lore will be present, including her aunt and mentor Lana Lang, here reimagined as the Daily Planet’s business editor who lives in the penthouse of Hammersmith Tower in Metropolis with her niece. The film will also nod to her comic origins: last survivor of Argo City, bearer of powers granted by Earth’s yellow sun - strength, speed, flight, heat vision, enhanced hearing, breath that can freeze or blow away obstacles, and near invulnerability thanks to a bio-electric aura that even keeps her costume pristine. And of course, Kryptonite remains her most dangerous weakness.
Writer Ana Nogueira pens the screenplay, with Craig Gillespie directing. Filming has taken place in London and Iceland, using practical effects to stay true to the comics’ artistry. In a set photo shared by Gunn after the release of Superman (2025), Alcock’s Supergirl sports long blue sleeves, a wide gold belt, red skirt, red boots, and a short cape.
Thematically, Woman of Tomorrow positions Supergirl as a Gen Z-coded hero - kind-hearted but short-tempered, struggling to adapt to a world she never asked for, and far more proactive (and aggressive) than Superman. Like The Last of Us or Fallout, it’s a younger-hero-on-a-journey story, with an older figure - here, Kara - guiding a volatile protégé. Gunn believes Alcock brings the “edge, grace, and authenticity” needed to distance this portrayal from Melissa Benoist’s earnest Arrowverse version.
And yes, Krypto gets his moment - even beyond the film. A series of four shorts starring the Superdog is set to roll out annually starting in late 2025, after his debut in Superman.
With a legacy spanning failed box office attempts (Supergirl 1984), beloved TV runs (Supergirl 2015), and countless comic reinventions, Kara Zor-El has never had a cinematic outing quite like this. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow aims to change that. Telling the story of a hero who’s endured unimaginable loss, refuses to be defined by someone else’s cape, and is finally ready to carve her own legend among the gods and monsters of the DC Universe!
