James Gunn, Milly Alcock & Craig Gillespie Talk ‘Supergirl’ During NYC Press Conference

On Sunday, DC Studios hosted an event in New York to share a first look at the official teaser trailer for their upcoming film, ‘Supergirl’. Following that a press conference was held, where James Gunn (Head of DC Studios), Milly Alcock (Supergirl) and Craig Gillespie (Director) discussed the film, the trailer and it’s release in more depth.

Why Supergirl? Why this project?

James Gunn started off the conversation by talking viewers through why Supergirl was the next character to have a solo film in his DC Universe, Most of that was down to the ‘fantastic’ script that Ana Nogueria had written, which led to an instant green light for the film. Gunn also shared that as soon as he’d read the script, he had Milly pictured for the role after seeing her talent during her performance as Rhaenyra Targaryen in ‘House Of The Dragon’. Director, Craig Gillespie then went onto explain how he had been attached to the project which mostly involved his admiration for Gunn’s work and also for the script itself, which resonated with his ideals in terms of character development. He also went onto talk about how excited he was to make ‘Supergirl’ and after researching Milly Alcock after she was cast, he was impressed by her vulnerability, humour and strength which really won him over.

Milly’s take on Supergirl

Milly was asked to describe her take on Superman and how it differs to what we have seen in James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ film that was released earlier this year. She went onto explain that Supergirl had a more cynical side to her and more of an actual ‘punk-rock’ personality due to her upbringing and memories of growing up on a dying planet. This Supergirl is much less trusting, she is skeptical and has a wall up, unlike Superman who is almost overly trusting and in some ways lived a sheltered life in comparison to her. She also went onto comment that it was actually fun and refreshing to play a character without a facade like that.

Milly was asked about her experience the first time she got to wear the Supergirl costume and the first time she set on set as Supergirl. Her first day on set as the character wasn’t actually for this film, instead it was for ‘Superman’ and that it was actually a hard first day as she filmed scenes with Superman in a cold environment. Milly also said that Chantal, the Producer was so moved by her first time seeing Milly in the suit that she actually cried because of the impact of what she saw, this moment really emphasised the importance of stepping into this role for Milly.

Milly was then asked if and how she resonated with Supergirl in any way and how she channeled it into her performance, she answered by expelling how she identified with her struggle to be a hero despite not wanting to, similar to her own experience with fame and being an actor and she also believes that you can be flawed and still achieve internal self-solution. In terms of research Milly relied heavily on the graphic novel ‘Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow’ in a bid to capture that specific story and character development as closely as possible. She did also mention the fact that in comparison to Superman, this film is totally unique in terms of the characters involved and also the tone of the film, making it extremely distinct from ‘Superman’ as the ENTIRE film takes place in Space.

Craig Gillespie discusses his take and inspiration for Supergirl

Director, Craig Gillespie was asked what Milly brought to the role, in which he praised her rebellious spirit, humour and cynicism which fit the character perfectly considering the tone of the story. He claims Milly effortlessly embrace the role with a compelling performance and praised her ability to balance humour with the emotional depth that this film will cover. Gillespie also gushed about the source material, the graphic novel ‘Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow’ by Tom King, Bilquis Evely and Matheus Lopes and how he loved that this version of Kara was a strong female lead, but admitted to being introduced to it after he had read the script. He also went onto explain that this was done on purpose so that he see how the story would feel for those that had not yet read the comic and were coming into it for the first time. He also mentioned that Bilquis Evely’s artwork was a huge inspiration for the film.

‘Supergirl’ soars into cinemas on 26th June 2026.