For DC characters with “super” at the front of their names, the concept of heritage is a strong one, and the parents of both Superman and Supergirl have played a big part in their respective lives, despite not making the trip to Earth. For CBS’ upcoming comic book drama Supergirl, we know that Nashville and Broadway star Laura Benanti will be taking on the role of Kryptonian matriarch Alura Zor-El, and the actress recently claimed audiences can expect to see her in three different forms on the show.
Benanti offered up some info to TV Line, in which she still managed to remain mysterious about how she’s going to be used.
You’ll see me in flashbacks, you’ll see me in hologram and then you’ll see me in one other capacity, which I can’t tell you – but it is the thing that makes me the most excited and is why I wanted to do the show.
I gotta say, that’s an excellent way to sell the surprise. After watching the super-sized trailer earlier this month, we already gathered that flashbacks were going to be used. And because this is Superman-related, it’s no surprise that the use of holograms will be prominent. But what could that third form be?
The hologram side of things ties to the memory crystals that make up the Fortress of Solitude, where interactive forms of artificial intelligence are used for the super-offspring to communicate with the parents and learn about their histories, as seen in Superman: The Movie and Superman Returns. Man of Steel took some liberties with these elements and turned Jor-El’s A.I. into a scouting vessel. So following that, it’s hard to imagine exactly how a TV version of the A.I. will be accomplished, should that be how they’re handling it.
Considering this third option is the thing that made Benanti the most excited about doing the project, perhaps Alura will appear as a Broadway musical. Okay, that’s stupid, but I’m not sure what other character form would get an actress so excited about playing a part. I’m not going to be able to handle this if she’s playing Melissa Benoist’s talking cat or something. There’s a chance the answer already exists out there in the form of the leaked pilot, but I won’t be watching until it officially airs.
In Supergirl, Benoist plays the 24-year-old Kara Zor-El, who was adopted by the Danvers family when she crashed to Earth at age 12. She works for the media company CatCo under Calista Flockhart’s Cat Grant, but also works under David Harewood’s ex-CIA agent and current Department of Extra-Normal Operations agent Hank Henshaw. Kara’s friends who are in on her super-secret include her cousin Alex (Chyler Leigh), who works for Henshaw, and James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), the art director at CatCo.
Expect to get some answers about Alura’s multi-looks when Supergirl hits CBS on Monday nights starting this November.
