LOS ANGELES
Superhero franchises live and die on a single question: did the casting work? With Supergirl premiering ahead of its June 26 release, James Gunn's rebooted DC Universe got its clearest answer yet—and it came from a corner nobody fully braced for.
Milly Alcock, the 26-year-old Australian best known from House of the Dragon, has walked away from early screenings with something close to critical consensus: she is, by a wide margin, the best thing in the movie. Reviewers who split on the film itself kept landing on the same word—she "shines," she "owns" the role, she will "change our idea of Supergirl forever."
A Different Kind of Supergirl
Director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella) has built a Kara Zor-El who isn't simply Superman's cheerful cousin. Critics describe Alcock bringing "aloofness and melancholy" to the role, leaning into Kara's backstory as a survivor of a destroyed world. The tone: imagine Guardians of the Galaxy, True Grit, and Mad Max thrown in a blender—grimy, funny, surprisingly somber.
That tonal swing is a calculated risk for Gunn and partner Peter Safran, building an interconnected DCU from scratch. Superman leaned hopeful. Supergirl is doing something rougher.
Momoa's Lobo Problem (the Good Kind)
If Alcock is the emotional center, Jason Momoa's Lobo is the chaos engine. The hulking, foul-mouthed interstellar bounty hunter gets his live-action debut here, and reviewers have been enthusiastic: "Momoa is having the time of his life." Several said they wanted more of him—which isn't an accident; it's the marketing plan working as designed.
Split Reviews, Unified Star Power
The recurring criticism: an underwritten villain. David Corenswet's Superman, in a supporting role, drew praise as "peak casting." The DCU's problem so far has never been its leading actors—it's been everything built around them.
What separates Supergirl from a simple mixed verdict is that disagreements are about craft and tone, not about whether the movie found its lead. On that question, the response has been close to unanimous.
An Industry Watching Closely
Gunn's DCU is attempting what Marvel built incrementally and the previous DC regime never managed: a coherent shared universe with films that feel distinct. Supergirl is only the second film, and early signs that a 26-year-old newcomer can anchor a tentpole are exactly the signal that determines whether a studio doubles down on a young star.
There's a quieter subplot: Alcock's casting puts a young woman at the emotional center of a DC tentpole in a way the studio hasn't fully committed to before, leaning into vulnerability rather than spectacle. If it works commercially, other studios will study it closely.
What This Means for You
If you're fatigued by superhero formula, early word suggests Supergirl is swinging at something different. For DCU completists, it's close to mandatory viewing. And for anyone looking for a star to watch, the consensus forming around Alcock this week is the kind of moment people point back to later.
Conclusion
Supergirl opens June 26 with reviews that disagree about almost everything except its leading actress—not a unanimous triumph, not a clear miss, but a film whose biggest bet paid off so clearly it may not matter how the rest shakes out. Gunn now has two films and one emerging star to build the next decade around. Based on this week's reactions, he picked the right one.
