After 21 years of success with the Superman franchise, the logical next step was to create a female counterpart to not only capitalise on that success, but also appeal to young female readers in a male-dominated comic book industry. Created by Otto Binder and designed by Al Plastino, Supergirl debuted in Action Comics #252 in 1959 and, over the decades, has carved out her own path and found her own success to distinguish herself from the Man of Steel.

She has appeared in all different types of media with varying degrees of success, with the most successful being the Supergirl television series starring Melissa Benoist as part of the Arrowverse that ran for six seasons from 2015 to 2021. Now, in 2026, after the critically acclaimed Superman from a year ago that kicked off the DCU brand of superhero movies, Milly Alcock is now ready to suit up as Supergirl to soar through the skies and into cinemas worldwide.

Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, spends her days drinking on planets to deal with the trauma of losing her home and loved ones when she was young. The planets she visits are hidden from the yellow sun, so she can neutralise her powers and get herself intoxicated. Even with all the grief she carries, her trusty companion, Krypto, has always been by her side, and she’s had him since before her home was destroyed.

A young female warrior named Ruthye Marye Knoll seeks her help to get revenge on the space pirate known as Krem of the Yellow Hills, who murdered her family. Kara refuses at first, until Krem and his gang show up to attack them and end up poisoning Krypto. With the poison slowly killing Krypto, Kara reluctantly teams up with Ruthye to track down Krem of the Yellow Hills and save Krypto.

Australian actress Milly Alcock stars as the titular Supergirl, with a whole new take on the character compared to all past portrayals. Because this Supergirl spends a lot of her time drowning her sorrows, she’s more rebellious, but deep down, she still cares for her loved ones, especially the ones she has left. Milly’s portrayal shows someone who has more power than she knows what to do with and can make a difference in the galaxy, but chooses to neutralise those powers while dealing with past trauma.

All of that, of course, changes when Krypto’s life is threatened, and we get to see the real Supergirl let loose.

Eve Ridley plays Ruthye Marye Knoll, a young girl who seeks Supergirl’s help to avenge her father’s death at the hands of Krem. Her performance, while not terrible, wasn’t all that interesting as she’s very one-dimensional for the most part, though she does get some fun moments.

Even though she’s not the most memorable character, Ruthye serves as the one who gets Supergirl to open up about herself, and audiences get to learn more about her backstory.

After his portrayal of Aquaman in the DCEU movies, Jason Momoa makes his highly anticipated and long-awaited debut as the Intergalactic Bounty Hunter, Lobo. Momoa was born for this role, as his real-life personality is a perfect fit for The Main Man’s reckless nature and arrogant, fun-loving personality. He doesn’t get as much screen time, which was to be expected, but he sure does waste none of the time he does get, never hesitating to cause mayhem in order to complete his contract.

This is only the beginning of Jason Momoa as Lobo, as there is no doubt we’ll be seeing him again in future DCU movies and hopefully his own solo film.

Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts stars as the main villain, Krem of the Yellow Hills. He is the leader of the Brigands, a group of space pirates and human traffickers. Matthias is well known for his unique acting style that relies heavily on his imposing physicality and body language more than dialogue. His performance as Krem is intimidating with a demanding presence on screen, but unfortunately, he ends up being a forgettable villain by the end.

This isn’t due to Matthias’s performance, or that he’s playing a very obscure villain, because he does it with what he was given; it’s more to do with his design. Krem and his gang look like they’re from a Mad Max movie, which works for their wild and rebellious nature, but it’s easy to mistake Krem for one of his goons when a lot is happening on screen, as they don’t have the most distinguishing features from each other.

On the flip side, however, this does allow other characters, namely Supergirl and Lobo, to shine more and not be overshadowed. Krem and his gang do their part to be a big enough threat and add to the body count for Supergirl and Lobo to create mayhem on screen and show off their powers and abilities.

David Corenswet reprises his role as Superman, who makes occasional appearances throughout the film, trying to keep in contact with Supergirl and also appears in flashback scenes. Krypto also makes his big return, but because of the film’s plot, we sadly don’t get to see him as much. We do get to see Krypto in some flashback scenes, though, and the bond he and Supergirl developed, which audiences will appreciate.

There have been many past portrayals of Supergirl in comics, cartoons, TV series, live action and animated movies. The most notable and comparable live action portrayals have been by Helen Slater in the 1984 film and Melissa Benoist in the television series connected to the Arrowverse, both also being titled, Supergirl. All her past portrayals show Supergirl/Kara to be upbeat and happy-go-lucky, but she also faces some challenges in her personal life.

There was also Sasha Calle’s portrayal in 2023’s The Flash, but that was a darker and grim version of the character, fitting for Zack Snyder’s vision of DC movies.

Milly Alcock’s casting did receive a lot of unnecessary backlash online, but her performance shines bright and stands out on its own, showing the potential the character could have on the big screen. 2025’s Superman was a strong start to the DCU brand of superhero movies, but 2026’s Supergirl doesn’t quite live up to the same hype due to different factors, but none of it was due to Milly’s unique performance.

Having the character not have her powers for a lot of the film does take away the fun, especially because we got to see so much of her cousin and other superheroes using their powers in 2025’s Superman, but this does allow her to develop her own character, and we’re excited to see what she’ll do in future DCU movies.

James Gunn has had great success with past superhero movies that include the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, The Suicide Squad and Superman, showing that he can turn lesser-known and obscure comic characters into pop culture icons. The DCU franchise is in great hands with him at the helm, but of course, he won’t be able to be involved in everything. Craig Gillespie, who has had great success with past films, stepped up to direct Supergirl, which sadly isn’t one of his better directing jobs.

The overall tone of the film felt mixed; the pacing and certain conversations drag more often than they should, and there are a few too many uninteresting characters getting screen time. Hopefully, this is just a minor bump in the road and not an early indication of what future DCU films will be like going forward.

Having the Supergirl film set on different planets as opposed to Superman taking place primarily on Earth helps set the two apart and not feel like you’re seeing repeating scenery. Audiences will see different beings and unique creatures across different locations. The set pieces we see are mostly open desert-like places, some with gritty-looking bars that Supergirl frequents. They’re similar to what we see in some Star Wars movies, a big contrast to the big, busy and lively city we see in Superman.

When we get to the action, that’s when the movie truly gets exciting and makes it all worth it to sit through long, dragged-out dialogue scenes that could’ve been reduced. Supergirl and Lobo get to do what they do best, and there is no shortage of enemies for them to beat down and throw around. The special effects team absolutely deserve praise for their hard work to bring these iconic characters to life using their abilities to their full advantage. It might take a while to get to the action, but when we eventually do, they are glorious and satisfying.

The film’s score was composed by Ramin Djawadi, who has scored for several other comic book films in the past. Various licensed music can be heard throughout the movie, including “This Summer” by Sleigh Bells, ”Catch These Fists” by Wet Leg and “Le temps de l’amour” by Françoise Hardy, plus other songs by Rilo Kiley, Modest Mouse, Wolf Alice, Halsey, and Eagles of Death Metal. They all fit perfectly into their respective scenes, especially when the action picks up, adding even more excitement and intensity to the chaos unfolding on screen.

The latest Supergirl film may not live up to its full potential, but the potential is definitely there. Milly Alcock provides a fresh, new, rebellious take on Supergirl that also stays true to the important aspects of the source material. Jason Momoa finally gets to rev that Spacehog and cause an absolute ruckus as Lobo. There is a lot of room for improvement, but what it gets right with Supergirl, Lobo and the brutal action scenes where they can let loose, it shows what they’re truly capable of on the big screen. 2026’s Supergirl may not be perfect, but it still has a lot going for it, and when it does get exciting, audiences are in for a wild ride.

Written by: Sammy Hanson