It’s going to be well over a year before the new DCU makes its cinematic debut, but the newly rebooted universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran is well on its way. The Superman: Legacy cast is mostly in place ahead of filming starting later this year, and it looks like a decision is close on deciding who will play Superman’s cousin, as two actresses, Milly Alcock and Meg Donnelly, are reportedly onto the screen test phase for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
THR reports that screen tests for both Alcock, who played Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon and Donnelly, the voice of Supergirl in several animated DC projects, took place this week. DC Films’ co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran were both reportedly on hand for the tests. A previous report had included actress Emilia Jones as a contender for Supergirl alongside Alcock and Donnelly. While we don't know if that report was perfectly accurate, if it was it looks like the field has continued to narrow. According to the latest update, the decision of who will play Supergirl is important as the character will be appearing in Superman: Legacy before leading their film.
While James Gunn has repeatedly been critical of rumors surrounding casting, he recently made it clear to fans that casting only happens after scripts are ready, and we know the script for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is written so that certainly lends credibility to this report. It didn’t take too long after the reports of screen tests for the roles of Superman and Lois Lane for the casting of those roles to be confirmed, so we could find out who the new Supergirl is very soon.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve been mildly obsessed with the idea of Milly Alcock as Supergirl after seeing fan art of the idea. She would certainly look the part, and based on the fact that Supergirl may be a bit more “alien” in this version of the character, her performance as Rhaenyra Targaryen could be a window into how her Supergirl could be, and it could really work.
Having said that Meg Donnelly has already proven she can be Supergirl, as she’s voiced the character more than once, and it’s hard to imagine she won’t also be able to look like a superhero in the suit.
Whoever doesn’t get cast as Supergirl may still have a future in the new DCU. We know that Nicholas Hoult was once in the running to play Superman, and had also auditioned to be Matt Reeves’ Batman, and now he’s set to play Lex Luthor. Perhaps whoever comes in second here will have similar opportunities.
The Superman: Legacy release date is the only one we have when it comes to upcoming DC movies. We don’t have any sort of a timetable for when Woman of Tomorrow might actually start shooting, but if the script is ready and the actress is cast, it sounds like it could be the second big-screen feature of James Gunn’s DCU Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Perhaps along with the official casting announcement, we’ll get some more detail on just what is next for the Woman of Tomorrow.
