When James Gunn was first announced as the head of DC Studios, many fans were concerned that all the superhero films under his brand would turn out to be like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, meaning they would all be a bit goofy. Well, as it turns out, they might not have been completely wrong. Gunn recently told Rolling Stone that “Supergirl especially is a space adventure. It’s like Guardians [of the Galaxy]”.
After wrapping Peacemaker Season 2, which just so happens to have the lowest-rated finale on IMDb right now, Gunn’s attention has turned towards the rest of the DCU lineup. The next few years are packed. Lanterns will drop first on HBO Max in early 2026, followed by Supergirl, hitting theaters June 26, 2026. The latter stars House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, with Jason Momoa stepping in as the cigar-smoking bounty hunter Lobo. The villain, Krem of the Yellow Hills, will be played by Matthias Schoenaerts, rounding out a cast that includes David Krumholtz and Eve Ridley.
Gunn insists Supergirl won’t just be a knockoff of Man of Tomorrow, despite both films focusing on Kryptonians. “Both those things are worked in,” he said about the wider DCU storyline. “We knew both of those stories were a part of what we originally put together, so they’re part of the overall tapestry, but they’re also their own thing.” He added, “There’s just a longer, sort of a bigger world we’re building with all these different pieces, and they do all come together and intersect sometimes in a story fashion and sometimes just in a, you know, ‘here’s another piece of the world’ fashion.”
In other words, he’s doing the MCU thing again – more government conspiracies, meta-human prisons, sarcastic banter… and, according to some fans, more political. But when Rolling Stone pointed out that his DCU has been heavy on real-world parallels, Gunn quipped, “It’s just totally fiction, Brian. This is, like, something that can never happen on our planet.”
Supergirl is based on the Woman of Tomorrow comic, which follows Kara on an intergalactic quest with Krypto the Superdog and an alien girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll. It’s part space western, part revenge odyssey. And exactly the kind of thing Gunn can’t resist. Rumors suggest that he’s been on set himself, directing a few key scenes (probably to make sure it has the right Guardians of the Galaxy energy, too).
Not everyone’s thrilled, though. Fans have started noticing a pattern: a group of misfits, pop songs, snarky humor, and some grand “we’re all family now” message. From Creature Commandos to Superman, it’s all beginning to feel like déjà vu.
Still, the numbers might tell a different story. Box office analyst Luiz Fernando predicts Supergirl could outgross Spider-Man: Brand New Day when the two collide next summer. He’s even calling it the next Wonder Woman moment, pointing to Gal Gadot’s 2017 debut that left Spidey in the dust that year. For DC, that would be a huge win. But we probably shouldn’t get our hopes up. Spider-Man has a huge following.
So, yes, while James Gunn’s Supergirl may feel familiar (or exactly like Guardians of the Galaxy), maybe that’s the point. After all, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are loved by fans, and they did make a ton of money at the box office, too. It won’t be a fail if history repeats itself.
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