'I'm sick of it': James Gunn explains why Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is no longer the DC comic book movie's name

• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow has been given a much cleaner and shorter title
• DC Studios co-chief James Gunn has confirmed the name change
• The superhero movie will be released in theaters worldwide in June 2026

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is no longer the official name of the forthcoming DC comic book movie, James Gunn has revealed.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, the DC Studios co-chief confirmed the Milly Alcock-starring film will now go by a much shorter title: Supergirl.

The surprise announcement came right at the start of Rolling Stone's profile piece on Gunn, which was conducted as part of the promotional campaign for the writer/director's upcoming Superman film. Asked by the interviewer if he could clarify what Woman of Tomorrow is being referred to as these days, Gunn paused before saying: "I think it’s just called Supergirl."

Elaborating on the title change, Gunn used Superman's next big-screen outing, which was originally called Superman: Legacy, to explain why Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow's name had been shortened.

"I’m always cutting [down project titles]," Gunn replied. "Legacy was really – we [DC Studios] do something called a premortem. A premortem is you get together with your group that’s doing the project. It’s usually about a couple months before shooting... [and] one of the things I brought up was, it [Gunn's Superman movie] was [originally] called Superman: Legacy.

"Even though I was the one that gave it that title, I just wasn’t sure," Gunn continued. "First of all, I’m sick of the superhero title, colon, other-name thing. Also, it seemed to be looking back when we’re looking forward, even though it does have to do with legacy in the movie itself. And everybody was like, 'Oh, yeah, no, change it.'"

Woman of Tomorrow, but a title for today

It might pain some DC comic book fans to learn about Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow's new, truncated titled. After all, the upcoming DC Universe (DCU) movie is basically adapting its eight-issue graphic novel namesake, which was created by comic book writer Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Eveley.

Nevertheless, in my view, renaming the DCU Chapter One film is the right decision. Supergirl has a much cleaner feel to it. Additionally, for non-DC comic devotees who don't already know it'll retell one of Kara Zor-El's best stories in a live-action format, its new title maintains an air of mystery about what its plot will actually entail.

Then there's the fact that, unlike more iconic DC heroes including Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, there's only been one other Supergirl movie: 1984's Supergirl, which starred Helen Slater and is available to stream on Max. So the prospect of confusing viewers with an identically titled flick over 40 years on from the Maiden of Might's silver screen debut shouldn't be of major concern.

All in all, I'm pretty happy that Supergirl has dropped its subtitle. It certainly rolls off the tongue better than its previous moniker, but its title change does mean I'll need to give my Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow guide a major overhaul. Lucky me, eh?

Supergirl will take flight in theaters worldwide on June 26, 2026.

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