James Gunn’s Superman will kick of the film side of the DC Universe franchise this summer on the 2025 movies schedule, then next year will come Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, focusing on the Man of Steel’s Kryptonian cousin. House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock will bring Kara Zor-El to life in this shared continuity, and new casting information for the character’s upcoming DC movie. However, now I have an important question regarding the DCU handling the Superman mythology: are we going to see Krypton explored at all in this franchise?
Let’s get the new castings out of the way first. Oppenheimer’s David Krumholtz and Into the Badlands’ Emily Beecham have been added to the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow cast. They’ll join Eve Ridley and Matthias Schoenaerts, who are respectively playing Ruthye Marye Knoll and Krem of the Yellow Hills. Additionally, Jason Momoa is expected to cameo as Lobo, and Krypto the Super-Dog will also appear following his debut in Superman.
What wasn’t clarified by THR is whether Krumtholtz and Beecham are playing Kara Zor-El’s Kryptonian parents, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze, or her adoptive Earth parents, Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers. For now, I’m betting it’ll be the latter couple. With Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow taking place in the present, the only way Zor-El and Alura In-Ze could appear is either through flashbacks, dreams/visions or holographic representations. That’s definitely not unlikely to happen, but considering that Woman of Tomorrow starts with Kara celebrating her 21st birthday, I’m more inclined to think that Krumtholtz and Beecham are playing Jeremiah and Eliza. They would obviously be present for these festivities before Kara heads off to her adventure in space.
So let’s assume I’m right about this. That would mean that, for now at least, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze aren’t appearing in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Let’s also not forget that Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell are respectively playing Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark Kent’s adoptive parents, in Superman, but there’s been no word his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara, showing up. James Gunn, who’s also running DC Studios with Peter Safran, has also said he won’t retell Superman and Batman origin stories in the DCU, so maybe that will also be the case with Supergirl.
I don’t necessarily mind this, both as a longtime DC fan who’s well aware of Kara’s past, and as someone who, frankly, doesn’t want too much valuable screen time in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow dedicated to chronicling the circumstances that. That being said, it is strange to me that the DCU wouldn’t explore Kryptonian culture through, as far as we know, the planet’s only two survivors. I’m not saying we need to see Krypton explode and watch Kal-El and Kara Zor-El be launched off in their rockets, but I do hope the DCU does at least provide some glimpses into what life on Krypton was like. Going a step further, maybe we could see how certain actions taken by Kryptonians like Joe-El and Zor-El are having ramifications in the present day… you know, besides sending their children to Earth.
My question will be answered, at least partially, when Superman comes out on July 11, 2025, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will follow on June 26, 2026. Additionally, following Creature Commandos concluding its first season earlier this month, next up on the upcoming DC TV shows slate is Peacemaker Season 2, which will also be streamable with a Max subscription.
