We don't know much about the next DC film. Supergirlbut one of its members discussed in general terms what he aims to achieve and hinted that this year he will bring clarity to the affairs of the House of El. Superman tune.
Warning! Spoilers for Superman follow:
The DCU Kickstarter changes Superman's established origin story to introduce his parents, Jor-El and Lara, as villains of sorts. As Superman learns during the events of the film, his parents sent him to Earth not to protect humanity, but to rule it—a revelation that sends Kal-El spiraling for a time.
Some Superman fans were so shocked by this twist on the characters' motivations that they speculated that DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn plans to either revise this plot point or ultimately reveal that the message on which it is based is false or misleading. Gunn denies this.
Supergirl, however, promises to continue the House of Al storyline when it releases on June 26, 2026. In it, Millie Alcock's Kara Zor-El, fresh off her drunken cameo at the end of Superman, celebrates her 21st birthday by traveling the galaxy with her dog Krypto. We know that the film stars Lobo, played by Jason Momoa. But we know little else.
David Krumholtz (Bernard in The Santa Claus franchise) plays Zor-El, Supergirl's father, and in a recent interview with Nerdtropolis he was, of course, asked if he could say anything about the film. In answering, Krumholtz kept his cards close to his chest, but teased a couple of things: Supergirl will be closely following the Woman of Tomorrow comic, and it will be “the next part of telling the story of Krypton and sort of further clarifying what the House of El is.”
“It’s very similar to the ‘Woman of Tomorrow’ graphic novel that it’s based on,” Krumholtz said. “Exactly, and it's great. Plus Lobo, what can I say. Everybody knows Jason Momoa plays Lobo in it. So it's that comic plus Lobo. What else can I say? I can't say much, man.
“I'll just say that I'm really excited to be sort of the next piece of Kryptonian history and sort of a further clarification of what the House of El is.”
Let's start with “Women of Tomorrow.” The Supergirl movie is based on the comic book by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, in which Supergirl is completely different from the one that audiences may be used to. In July, Gunn said the DC Universe's version of Supergirl was “a complete mess.”
As shown in Superman, Supergirl got drunk on a planet bathed in the light of a red sun (Superman or any Kryptonian cannot get drunk on Earth due to the empowering effects of our yellow sun). But beyond that, it's clear that Supergirl suffers from mental health issues that cause her to drink, which is the result of a completely different upbringing compared to her cousin's.
“I mean, I think that as we find out, she had a very different past than Superman,” Gunn continued. “A much more complicated past. He had a wonderful upbringing from these two parents who loved him and were very healthy. And her past was very different from that. And she ended up being different than her cousin.”
“Our story has Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents,” Gunn explained. “Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that got torn off the planet, and she lived there for the first 14 years of her life in a terrible situation, watching everyone around her die. So, she's a much more gritty and damaged Supergirl than you're used to so far.”
Gunn recently called Supergirl “space fantasy” and said: he will have a different tone than Superman. According to him, it's more like Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy. Read more in the IGN article: Superman Introduces the Girl of Steel: Here's Why This Version of Supergirl Is So Different.
But we should also talk about Krumholtz's comments about the House of Al. Perhaps we'll get further insight into why Superman's parents did what they did, or maybe even some revelations about the fate of Krypton itself. Will David Corenswet reprise his role as Superman for a cameo in Supergirl? Sure, fighting Lobo sounds like a lot of fun.
Supergirl isn't the only DCU movie coming out next year. Fans are also looking forward to Clayface as well as the HBO Max TV show Lanterns. Then, in 2027, we'll get the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow.
Wesley is IGN's News Director. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
