“Supergirl” takes flight! Our JP shares his thoughts on the new adventure centered on Superman’s cousin, starring Milly Alcock and Jason Momoa.
Supergirl (2026 film)
Warner Bros. Pictures
- Directed by Craig Gillespie
- Written by Ana Nogueira
- Based on Characters from DC
- Produced by Peter Safran, James Gunn
- Starring Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason Momoa
Studio Synopsis:
“Supergirl,” DC Studios’ newest feature film to hit the big screen, will be in theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures, starring Milly Alcock in the dual role of Supergirl/Kara Zor-El. Craig Gillespie directs the film from a screenplay by Ana Nogueira. When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice. Alcock stars alongside Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, with David Corenswet, and Jason Momoa.
J.P.’s Take:
“Supergirl” made her film debut in 1984, first premiering in its original form in the UK that July. It finally reached the US in November of ‘84, with a chopped version trimming its running time from 126 to 105 and leaving much of the critical meat on the cutting room floor. And sadly, to its detriment, it didn’t impress critics; it flopped at the box office, yet it gathered a small fan base that would push it to cult status. What’s unfortunate is that there hasn’t been a sequel or a reboot until now. DC braved the storm and brought forth a much more worthy effort than its 1984 forebear with “Supergirl” 2026.
Just as Supergirl of ‘84 was introduced in a “Superman” entity, such as “Superman 3,” we were reintroduced to her in a cameo in the latest Superman iteration, released in 2025. It was the kind of set-up that allowed fans to witness a troubled side of the super family we usually don’t see. In this modernized retelling of Kal-El / Clark Kent’s cousin, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), we see a drunken mess of a reluctant heroine.
In the beginning, there is a montage of Kara’s zany escapades: roaming the galaxy, swilling alcohol like there’s no tomorrow, getting into fights, and trying to drown what ails her. That is, until a young girl sets foot in the bar Kara is trying to hide away in. As we’ve seen in “Superman” (2025), Kara appears drunken and carefree, yet these antics felt aimless if a bit humorous. However, her origin story is a long-drawn-out process that requires us viewers to sit through action set-piece after action set-piece, just to get to the heart of the subject. These moments could get tedious after a while if there’s no payoff — something to leave me with a big question mark over my head.
Then the moment became clear: after about 45 min or more into the whole shebang, we’re then thrust into Kara’s backstory, which, in my humble opinion, could have benefited from being doled out in bits and pieces during these battle scenes. Instead, the story felt slightly lopsided, as the tragic account took less time to tell than the rest of the film. Sure, we understand that she’s fighting for young Ruthye Marye Knoll’s (Eve Ridley) sake, as her family too was killed, which gives Kara motivation. And it’s only after the fact that we understand how Kara’s lackadaisical attitude towards her future has led to her depression, as she’s a grief-stricken and uncertain young woman. In some way, her actions feel justified, while she is releasing much pent-up stress and anger on the those who deserve it. Other times, the battling felt like filler. Some of the highlights come from scenes spent with Lobo (Jason Momoa) and Ruthye, as they’re trying to escape Krem’s (Matthias Schoenaerts) prison, which sparked some chuckles and added much-needed humor. Of which much of the humor throughout fell flat, unfortunately.
Despite the well-choreographed action sequences and the ultra-creative, fully realized sets and environments, I would have dug a bit more into Kara’s backstory had they fleshed it out. If there were more moments of her life as a youngster on Earth, with the twists and turns she’s taken throughout her life, I would have felt for her even more so. Supergirl does live within the same universe as Superman, making the correlation between his life on both their homeworld of Krypton and on Earth and Kara’s. But it only does so in spurts, feeling fractured and unfinished. Part of me wonders if director Craig Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira left her origins vague on purpose, saving the bulk of the meat and potatoes for a second outing.
I’m willing to admit “Supergirl” (2026) is a vast improvement over the dismal ‘84, more so than it’s willing to express. However, it suffers from overstuffed action pieces and a fractured history that needed more time to develop. I didn’t hate this origin story; I just expected more from a prominent side character.
Official Site: Supergirl
