Supergirl (2026) is the second feature to be released in the new DC Universe, helmed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Gunn’s creative direction shows, although he’s not the director. The approach to stories in this universe, stated by Gunn, is to confirm a screenplay before confirming the actual project (as opposed to announcing a movie in the future, and working towards it), hence a complete chain of pace; upcoming in October, body horror Clayface (2026) being the third movie in this universe. Question to ask DC Film CEO’s Gunn and Safran; What happened here?!
Continuing after Superman (2025), Kara Zor-El (Alcock) hops between red sun planets – places she doesn’t have powers. In her travels, she meets a young girl, searching for revenge. Kara finds herself involved in the young girl’s quest once the opposed strikes too close to home.
Comic book inspiration comes from the Supergirl miniseries ‘Woman of Tomorrow’ (2021-22).
As someone who thoroughly enjoys the Supergirl character, it feels rather sad to report how unimpressive and glum this movie is. The positives first; Milly Alcock is really entertaining as the titular role, even if said titular role doesn’t effectively enter the movie until the last 20 minutes. Jason Mamoa is also great casting in a role he, and most DC fans have always dreamt to see him in. The positives, unfortunately, end here.
A constant bore; the thin vail of a plot is all that is transferred from the comic miniseries, and not even confidently. 14 year old Eve Ridley stars Ruthye. It’s never nice to critique such a young performer, but it remains to be said that her performance was poor. An irritant to the story, although this flaw can certain be attributed to the writers, Ridley’s involvement certainly contributes to a narrative that already feels old in Hollywood – child sidekick. Completely forgetting the main character at points, Supergirl as a whole doesn’t know what to say, nor does it know what to show.
The creatives behind Supergirl have made an extremely sluggish, generic comic book movie that would have been passable 15-20 years ago, not in 2026. With reference to older Marvel projects, those in charge certainly have a long list of what not to do, yet, find themselves doing exactly that. The main antagonist is a character plucked straight out of one of James Gunn’s other films. This villian has no personality, no presence, no performance, no reason; nothing.
The aesthetically-pleasing comic run (along with clear reference to the Mad Max series) shows what wonders the use of colour and image can truly look like, but this $170 million production never really comes close. A constant brown tone throughout; an uninviting feel begins to beckon once each visited planet looks all so uninspiring and similar to the last.
It’s completely fair to say that most of this movie looks bleak; feels bleak. Although enticing around the start; wanting to capture its audience, the result ends up being something rather different to its predecessor, in the worst way possible. Action feels incredibly minimal given the material, with nothing interesting either side. Having said that, the worldbuilding revolving Kara’s past/Krypton/Argo feels like a delight as a DC fan, but ultimately means absolute squat if this is the final product.
Worryingly early in the phase, Gunn’s new comic book universe could possibly hit a wobble once earnings and reviews are mentioned. Is this a must watch? No. Is this fun watch? Unfortunately no.
