When Ana Nogueira signed on to write Supergirl for James Gunn’s rebooted DCU, she wasn’t exactly thrilled about the character’s past interpretations. “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,’” she told Variety. And honestly, we agree. If your entire planet went kaboom, would you be cracking jokes and smiling at strangers? Probably not. That’s more of a Superman thing.
DC Studios handed Nogueira a stack of Tom King comics, and in there she found the key to unlocking Kara Zor-El. King’s take on the character was, as she put it, “rougher, grittier, edgier, and funnier.” That version finally clicked. “When I read it, I was like, ‘There she is.’” Gone is the bubbly blonde cousin who occasionally fills in for Superman at Justice League meetings. Instead, we’re getting a jaded party girl with trauma baggage and a thirst for vengeance.
Directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella, I, Tonya) and starring House of the Dragon breakout Milly Alcock, the film already sounds like a cosmic road trip drenched in rage. Kara’s not soaring over Metropolis, waving politely at reporters. She’s heading off on what’s being described as a “murderous quest for revenge” across the galaxy, with Krypto the Superdog as her loyal companion. Think less CW’s Supergirl and more Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, a story with cynicism and sharp edges instead of sunshine and hope.
And that’s not an exaggeration. Just compare the words: not sunny, rougher, grittier, edgier. What does that remind you of? Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel, a movie that, yes, turns twelve this year, but still feels like it came out yesterday. Love it or hate it, Snyder redefined what a Superman story could look like. Now, a decade later, DC might be using that same formula to carve out a Supergirl that’s every bit as complex and conflicted.
The cast is amazing, too. Alcock plays Kara, with the DCEU’s Jason Momoa as Lobo, Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem of the Yellow Hills, and Eve Ridley playing Ruthye Marye Knoll. Insiders even claim DC upped Momoa’s screen time.
Nogueira’s script is already getting serious buzz. Industry insider Daniel Richtman posted, “I heard the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow script is amazing and people on set told me that based on what they saw it’s gonna be a treat.” James Gunn himself piled on the praise last year, saying, “Ana is an amazing writer whose screenplay adaptation of Woman of Tomorrow is above and beyond anything I hoped it would be.” Pretty impressive for her first produced feature screenplay, though DC clearly isn’t stopping there. She’s already been tapped to write both Wonder Woman and Teen Titans films.
Supergirl hits theaters on June 26, 2026. And from the sounds of it, it’s a lot more like Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel than James Gunn’s Superman (2025).
