Keep Calm, Kara’s On: Milly Alcock Is Supergirl In The New DC Universe
Beating out Emilia Jones and Meg Donnelly, Alcock’s Girl of Steel will make a smaller appearance somewhere before starring in 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Nevertheless, she persisted. And Milly Alcock won. The House of the Dragon star has won the highly coveted role of Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, in DC Studios’s new DC Universe across film and television, as constructed by CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Alcock was one of three finalists for the role, emerging victorious over CODA star and Doctor Who alum Emilia Jones and Zombies trilogy, The Winchesters and American Housewife star Meg Donnelly. Donnelly happened to be voicing the Woman of Steel in the current direct-to-video animated movie universe, the Tomorrowverse, specifically in Legion of Super-Heroes and the ongoing three-part Crisis on Infinite Earths, which serves as the universe’s end. It’s been reported that Jones refused to read for the part at screen testing, so the field narrowed down to Donnelly and Alcock. Alcock was primarily doing Australian movies and series before being cast as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen on HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, playing the princess in the first five episodes, before a 10-year time jump put Emma D’Arcy in the role.
It has been all but confirmed that this iteration will make an appearance in something before the starring effort in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. That something is widely believed to be Superman: Legacy, because by process of elimination in the slate we have so far (announced at the end of last January) it seems to be what everyone feels is likeliest, but nothing has been formally said. After all, this is the first confirmed casting for any movie role outside of Legacy, where everyone from Superman, Lois and Lex to Metamorpho and The Engineer have been cast. As for Woman of Tomorrow, it’s had Ana Nogueira attached, but no director. In the slate presentation last January, Gunn said about the film, which is based on Tom King's comic book series from 2022 "We see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl who was raised on a rock, a chip off Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl… she's not exactly the Supergirl we're used to seeing."
In confirming the news, Gunn, who is also Legacy’s writer and director, spoke most elaborately about it on Instagram, saying “This is accurate. Milly is a fantastically talented young actor, and I'm incredibly excited about her being a part of the DCU. Yes, I first became aware of her in House of the Dragon but I was blown away by her varied auditions and screen tests for #Supergirl. She embodies Kara as envisioned by [Tom King], [Bilquis Evely, the run’s illustrator], and Ana Nogueira.” If Kara’s first appearance really is in Superman: Legacy, then Alcock can be seen in the role when the film is released in theaters on July 11, 2025. It is currently the only project in the new DC Universe with a known, firm release date.
