Cruella director Craig Gillespie in talks to direct DC’s Supergirl film starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El

Last Updated on April 5, 2024

DC looks to have found its Supergirl director in Craig Gillespie, the man behind the camera for films like Cruella, I, Tonya, and GameStop stock drama Dumb Money. In Deadline’s exclusive report, the outlet says DC plans to shoot the female-led adventure in Q4 after completing work on James Gunn’s Superman film. House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock stars in the highly-anticipated feature as Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) for the story based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

Last year, Gunn remarked that when it comes to Supergirl, “we see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl who was raised on a rock, a chip off Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl. She’s much more hardcore; she’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re used to seeing.”

Gunn’s description of Supergirl is already ruffling feathers in the comic book community, with some readers saying this new version of the character is “off model.” It’s worth noting that King and Evely’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a standalone story open to wildly different interpretations of the classic character.

Alcock edged out The Winchesters and Supergirl voice actress Meg Donnelly and CODA’s Emilia Jones for the role. While plot details for Gunn’s adaptation of Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow remain a mystery, the limited series with jaw-dropping art by Bilquis Evely has the following synopsis:

Kara Zor-El has seen some epic adventures over the years, but she now finds her life without meaning or purpose. Here she is, a young woman who saw her planet destroyed and was sent to Earth to protect a baby cousin who ended up not needing her. What was it all for? Wherever she goes, people only see her through the lens of Superman’s fame.

Just when Supergirl thinks she’s had enough, everything changes. An alien girl seeks her out for a vicious mission. Her world has been destroyed, and the bad guys responsible are still out there. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost. Now a Kryptonian, a dog, and an angry, heartbroken child head out into space on a journey that will shake them to their very core.

King and Evely’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow presents a very different Kara Zor-El than most fans are used to. The story begins with Kara enduring a wicked hangover. As she cusses her way toward sobriety, Kara becomes mixed up in a mission that pushes her powers and heart to the limit.

What do you think about Craig Gillespie as the director of DC’s Supergirl? Let us know in the comments section below.