Supergirl: everything we know so far about the next DCU Chapter One movie (release date, cast, plot, and more)

Supergirl's star is on the rise. The cousin of Clark Kent/Kal-El, otherwise known as Superman, will star in her first solo movie in over 40 years in June 2026. Even though its release is still 11 months away (at the time of this article's latest update), there's no better time than now to get the lowdown on it.

In this guide, I've rounded up the latest and biggest news about the film formerly known as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Indeed, you'll learn more about the second DC Universe (DCU) film to arrive, including its confirmed cast, story details, and more.

Full spoilers follow for James Gunn's Superman movie. Potential spoilers follow for Supergirl and the graphic novel it's based on, too.

Supergirl release date

Supergirl is scheduled to launch worldwide on June 26, 2026. That means Supergirl will make her DCU debut almost one year after James Gunn's Superman movie was released and – spoilers! – after she made a brief but scene-stealing cameo in the Man of Steel's latest big-screen offering.

Although he's not directing it, Gunn, one of DC Studios' co-heads, confirmed (via Threads) that principal photography wrapped in early May. With its post-production phase now well underway, there's no reason why the DCU Chapter One movie won't arrive when it's supposed to.

Supergirl trailer: is there one?

No. DC Studios isn't likely to show us any footage at San Diego Comic-Con in late July, either, because its sole focus will be on promoting Peacemaker season 2, which releases this August.

However, according to The Wrap, Gunn and company will showcase Supergirl at a major convention this fall/autumn (that's spring for southern hemisphere readers). So, it's possible a teaser could be publicly unveiled at New York Comic-Con or a similarly big event. I'll update this section once one is released.

Supergirl cast: confirmed and rumored

Potential spoilers follow for Supergirl.

Based on which actors have been confirmed and/or rumored to appear, here's who I expect to see in Supergirl:

• Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl
• Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem
• Jason Momoa as Lobo
• Eve Ridley as Ruthye Marye Knoll
• David Krumholtz as Zor-El
• Emily Beecham as Alura In-Ze

So far, Alcock, Momoa, and Schoenaerts are the only actors who are officially confirmed to appear.

Alcock, who you might recognize from House of the Dragon and Sirens, was chosen to play Supergirl last January. Alcock made it to the final two alongside Meg Donnelly before being selected by Gunn and his studio co-chief Peter Safran to play a character previously portrayed by Helen Slater, Melissa Benoist, Summer Glau, and others in a live-action capacity.

Real name Kara Zor-El, she hails from Krypton, aka the destroyed planet that was also home to Kal-El/Clark Kent. In fact, she's Superman's cousin, so she possesses identical powers to her relative, such as heat vision, ice breath, X-ray vision, invulnerability, super-strength, superhuman endurance, and flight-based skills.

As for Momoa, who played Aquaman in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe (DCEU), he'll cameo as Lobo, who Gunn has teased as being vital to Supergirl's story.

The sole survivor of another alien race that lived on the utopian world known as Czarnia, Lobo travels the cosmos as a bounty hunter/mercenary. He's got the skillset for the job, too, with his super-strength, speed, agility, immortality, self-healing powers, and expert marksmanship ensuring that few foes can best him in short- and long-range combat.

Interestingly, Lobo doesn't appear in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, aka the comic series that this film is based on (more on the story later). So, I'm keen to learn why writer Ana Nogueira and director Craig Gillespie have included him.

Meanwhile, Gunn has confirmed (via the DC Studios podcast) that Schoenaerts is playing Krem, aka the primary villain of the piece, who's responsible for killing Ruthye's father. Ridley, who appeared in 3 Body Problem on Netflix, will play Ruthye (per Deadline), a young and noble warrior who enlists Supergirl's help to track down Krem.

Krumholtz and Beecham are also on board (per The Hollywood Reporter) as Zor-El and Alura, aka Kara's parents, so expect flashbacks to Kara's childhood and Krypton's demise.

Lastly, Supergirl will feature everyone's favorite boisterous pooch, Krypto. Inspired by Gunn's own rescue dog Ouzo, Krypto was reunited with Alcock's eponymous hero in Superman's final scene after that film's titular character was asked to temporarily look after him.

Supergirl story speculation

Possible spoilers follow for Supergirl.

Supergirl doesn't have a story synopsis yet. However, it's already possible to draw some conclusions about its plot because it'll draw heavily from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, an eight-issue graphic novel series written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely, which ran from June 2021 to February 2022.

For starters, this film retained the 'Woman of Tomorrow's subtitle that its comic book namesake is known for. However, in mid-June, Gunn confirmed its title had been shortened to Supergirl for one major reason.

Anyway, in Woman of Tomorrow, Kara Zor-El crosses paths with Ruthye and is asked to help the latter find Krem, who's responsible for killing her dad. A reluctant Supergirl agrees to help, thus kicking off the literary work's events.

Milly Alcock's Message to DC Fans Ahead of 'Supergirl' Debut (Exclusive) - YouTube

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I won't spoil much else because, well, spoilers. However, Woman of Tomorrow is a unique comic book series in that it doesn't tell the story from the perspective of the titular hero. Indeed, we witness events play out through Ruthye's eyes, so I'm curious to see if this'll be the case in its movie adaptation, or if Kara will be our eyes and ears instead, especially with a rising star in the form of Alcock leading its cast.

Regardless, it seems like Supergirl's first solo DCU outing will be incredibly faithful to its graphic novel counterpart. In January, Gunn revealed Woman of Tomorrow's first behind-the-scenes image, and it showed Alcock's Kara in a place that'll be very familiar to DC fans. Sure, it's just a single picture, but I'll be surprised if it isn't a near-identical retelling of the plot that plays out in DC Comics literature.

We've already glimpsed Alcock's live-action version of the character, too. In Superman's final pre-end credits sequence, we see Kara crash land at the Fortress of Solitude, be amusingly (and drunkenly!) rude to Clark, get reunited with Krypto, and fly off for pastures new. That 30-second cameo was all I needed to have full confidence in the forthcoming Alcock-led film, too.

Of course, she'll be as sympathetic and principled as the hero is depicted in the comics, but it's good to see Kara will be as much as a mess (as Gunn told ComicBook.com) in the DCU as she is on the page.

Of equal intrigue will be the movie's age rating. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a pretty dark story from a thematic standpoint, so its live-action interpretation could push the boundaries of what's considered to be a PG-13 movie in the US and a 12-plus film in the UK.

I suspect these are the age ratings it'll eventually earn, as Gunn, Safran, and company won't want to make an R-rated film that fewer people will be able to see. That said, speaking to IGN, Gunn says each DCU project will be "tonally different" from their siblings, so it's a possibility that the Alcock-fronted film could carry an R-rating. I'd be amazed if this ends up being the case, though.

How will Supergirl impact the DCU?

The short answer is: I don't know. Supergirl will be the fourth DCU project released after season 1 of Creature Commandos, Superman, and Lanterns. The last of those is the next HBO TV Original that'll also air on HBO Max (US and Australia) and Sky/Now TV (UK). It's expected to launch in early 2026.

Post-Supergirl, the only other DCU production that's in active development is Clayface. A small-budget horror flick from Mike Flanagan, it's currently penciled in to arrive next September and, based on what's been publicly revealed, it's highly unlikely to have ties to this film.

Until the Daughter of Krypton's next standalone adventure is out, then, we can't say what the future holds for Kara Zor-El, or how her first DCU solo movie will impact Gunn and Safran's cinematic universe.

What we do know is Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is positioning her as the fourth superhero that the DCU will be built around. In May, WBD CEO David Zaslav told investors that Supes and his cousin, plus Wonder Woman and Batman, are the DCU's "big asset builders" (per Yahoo). In short: this isn't the last we'll see of Kara in the DCU.

For more DCU based coverage, read our guides on Creature Commandos season 2, the best Batman movies, how to watch the DC movies in order, and how to watch the Superman movies in order.