Supergirl (2026): review, cast and the link to Superman

Forty-two years ago, Warner put Helen Slater in a blue and red leotard, spent US$35 million and watched the film stall at 19% on Rotten Tomatoes — a failure ugly enough to help push the Salkind brothers into selling the Superman rights to Cannon Group in 1986. This week, Supergirl tried again. Milly Alcock's version opened in Brazilian cinemas on Thursday the 25th, a day ahead of the US release, and the critics have already made up their minds: it isn't the 1984 disaster, but it isn't the unanimous win James Gunn needed for the second feature of the new DC universe either.

The origin: an award-winning comic about revenge in space

The screenplay is by Ana Nogueira, in her first job writing a feature film, and adapts Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the 2021-22 comic miniseries written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely. The comic presents a Kara Zor-El harder and wearier than the classic version: she survived the destruction of Krypton at 14 and, at 21, still carries that trauma as a physical weight.

In the film, directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella) and running 1h50, Kara crosses paths with Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), an alien girl whose father was murdered by the mercenary Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). Ruthye asks for help finding and killing the man responsible. Kara agrees — and what starts as a favour turns into a hunt from planet to planet, with Kara's contained fury as the engine of the story.

Cast: Milly Alcock carries the film, Jason Momoa steals the scene as Lobo

Milly Alcock, known for playing the young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, is the point of consensus among critics: she is what works in Supergirl, even when the script around her stumbles. David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham round out the cast as Zor-El and Alura In-Ze, Kara's parents, in flashbacks to Krypton.

Jason Momoa plays Lobo, the alien mercenary from the planet Czarnia who in the comics is violent, chaotic and sarcastic — and the reception confirms he nailed the tone. The problem, according to a good part of the American press, is that the character wanders in and out of the plot without ever really integrating into Kara and Ruthye's main arc.

Is Supergirl connected to James Gunn's Superman?

Yes — David Corenswet reprises the role of Clark Kent, with more screen time than a simple cameo. He turns up in the opening minutes over a video call, telling his cousin off for disappearing on a birthday bender, and returns in flashbacks that show Kara's arrival on Earth and the language barrier between the two of them.

Supergirl is the second feature of "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters" in the new DCU from James Gunn and Peter Safran, arriving after Superman (2025). The dynamic between the cousins — Clark as the older brother trying to guide Kara without judging her — is one of the most praised elements, including in the reviews harshest on the rest of the film.

What the critics are saying

As of 26 June, Supergirl is sitting around 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, with more than 140 reviews — the lowest score among the new DCU titles so far. For comparison: Superman (2025) landed at 83%, the animated series Creature Commandos at 95%, and the second season of Peacemaker at 94%.

The most repeated complaint is about tone: the script tries to balance grim revenge, Lobo comedy and Kara's family drama, and part of the American press describes the result as a film that never decides what it wants to be. On the positive side, Alcock's performance is cited as the one unanimous point — including by those who disliked the whole.

In Brazil, the initial reception was a little more generous: local reviews described the film as chaotic but fun, and said it's worth the ticket for Alcock's charisma and the supporting cast.

42 years on, at least it isn't 1984 all over again

It's hard to judge Supergirl (2026) without a glance in the rear-view mirror. The 1984 version with Helen Slater isn't merely remembered as bad — it's treated as one of the failures that nearly buried the character on film for decades, in the same period when the franchise's financial crisis led the Salkinds to sell the Superman rights. Forty-two years later, the 2026 film misses in a far more modest way: a middling score, scattered praise, no box-office disaster in sight.

That perhaps says more about how the genre has matured than about the film itself. Today even the "middling" version of a DC heroine arrives with a blockbuster budget, a prestige cast and a direct link to a shared universe planned over the long term — something that simply did not exist in 1984.

If you want to follow where the new DCU intends to go after Supergirl, it's worth riding the wave of serious science fiction that has taken over 2026: the post on Spielberg's Disclosure Day covers another recent release in the genre, and Project Hail Mary shows how character-centred sci-fi became the trend this year. If you prefer the satirical counterpoint to the sincere hero, the final season of The Boys sits at the other end of the spectrum. And if you want to dig into the cast before watching Supergirl — including other Jason Momoa roles —, the catalogue at Rei dos Filmes is a good place to start.

Have you seen it? Do you agree with the critics, or do you think Alcock holds the film up on her own? Tell us in the comments.