When Superman, previously known as Superman: Legacy arrives next year from director James Gunn, it will also introduce a lot more than just a new version of the titular protagonist. The Superman cast is stacked with heroes and villains who will making their DC Universe debut in the film. The biggest among them is arguably Supergirl, who will be played by Milly Alcock. She will be the third different Supergirl in the last decade, but one of the previous actresses to don the cape says that it’s great to see multiple Supergirl interpretations.
Melissa Benoist played Supergirl for six seasons on television, and the character was also in The Flash movie played by Sasha Calle (one of the highlights of the film). A third iteration of the Kryptonian heroine in quick succession might seem like too much, but Benoist doesn’t think that there’s any way we could have too much Supergirl. She recently told ScreenRant that it is important for young women to see Kara Danvers in multiple ways, saying,
I think any and all takes on the character are valuable because of what she stands for. Supergirl as an entity is iconic for a reason and has been since the '50s. I personally think that every iteration of her is valuable for young women to see, and hopefully [with] every take on her, someone will see themselves in it.
Melissa Benoist has a good point here. The versions of the characters played by her and Sasha Calle were certainly very different takes compared to each other. Benoist’s small screen take on Supergirl is a more traditional iteration, while Sasha Calle’s is a Supergirl raised in a brutal environment, and she is a much darker character because of it. Perhaps, if one version doesn’t work for some viewers, the other does.
As popular as the superhero genre still is right now, it’s incredibly male-dominated and there aren’t nearly as many female characters for young women to look up to and be inspired by. If Supergirl has to represent more, by being represented in different ways, so be it.
While we have yet to see Milly Alcock’s Supergirl, we can bet it will be different from both previous live-action interpretations. Alcock will follow her debut in the new Superman movie by leading her own film. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow's release date is unknown, but we know the film has a script, making it further along than most other projects in the DCU Chapter 1. The film is inspired by a comic that sees the character not grow up on Earth at all, leading to a very different outlook.
Superman the first upcoming DC movie in James Gunn’s new universe is now being filmed. Fans are certainly excited to see what this new Superman is like, and the same goes for Supergirl.
