‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ interview: Milly Alcock on why Kara is more punk rock than Superman

Australian histrion Milly Alcock volition soon beryllium stepping into one of the oldest lineages successful blockbuster cinema. The communicative of Krypton connected surface reaches backmost astir fractional a period to Richard Donner’s Superman successful 1978, the movie that turned Christopher Reeve’s mentation of Kal-El into the defining modern superhero, and established the taste imaginativeness of “truth, justice, and the American Way” that Hollywood has spent decades either preserving oregon interrogating. Since then, the House of El has passed done successive generations, from Helen Slater’s Supergirl successful 1984 and Tom Welling’s television-era Clark Kent successful Smallville; to Henry Cavill’s brooding alien successful Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe and now, David Corenswet’s earnest reinvention successful James Gunn’s 2025 Superman —  each histrion who puts connected the crest carries the accumulated expectations astir what a Kryptonian leader ought to represent. 

Milly is acutely alert of that history, and her knowing of bequest appears rooted successful a consciousness of stewardship. Asked astir joining that tradition, she says, “I deliberation that it’s specified a privilege to beryllium a portion of a agelong bequest of specified beloved actors and characters. In this reiteration, she is specified a antithetic mentation of Supergirl than we’ve seen successful the past and that has made the privilege adjacent much exciting.” 

The caller DC Universe nether DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran has been designed astir reinvention, with Supergirl serving arsenic the 2nd diagnostic successful the franchise’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters slate aft the commercialized occurrence of Superman successful 2025. The film, directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, adapts Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s acclaimed 2021-22 comic bid Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, a spacefaring revenge communicative that follows Kal-El’s relative Kara Zor-El, beyond the acquainted mounting of Earth-bound stories.

Though Supergirl boasts the aforesaid crest, draws from the aforesaid star battery, and traces her origins to the aforesaid dormant satellite arsenic Superman, the taste past of Krypton connected surface has overwhelmingly been organised astir men. Across astir 5 decades of movie and television, the defining Kryptonian figures person mostly progressive the consummation of antheral saviours bearing intolerable expectations. But Kara’s introduction to that lineage is shaped by antithetic circumstances, due to the fact that DC’s existent continuity presents her arsenic idiosyncratic who spent her puerility connected a surviving fragment of Krypton, having witnessed decease connected a planetary standard and arriving connected Earth with trauma that Clark Kent ne'er possessed. Those experiences are cardinal to the character’s operation and explicate wherefore her narration with heroism doesn’t stem from immoderate uncomplicated altruism. 

Kara’s defining trait, astatine slightest successful Alcock’s telling, emerges from the information that her flaws are neither concealed nor conquered. “I americium conscionable truthful obsessed with Kara,” she says. “I deliberation that careless of sex oregon age, each audiences volition beryllium capable to spot themselves wrong her. I deliberation that her being a pistillate besides adds to those exceeding expectations, but I deliberation the astir important facet of her being capable to transcend people’s expectations is her reluctance to beryllium a leader and her implicit benignant of solace wrong her flaws, and that becomes benignant of the champion prime astir her.”

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Eve Ridley plays Ruthye Marye Knoll, the young alien miss whose quest for vengeance crossed the postulation alongside Kara drives overmuch of the story. In the archetypal comic, Ruthye was some narrator and witnesser to Kara’s actions, making her our introduction constituent into the communicative done the eyes of idiosyncratic inactive learning what a ‘hero’ means. Ridley’s ain knowing of superheroes appears to person undergone a akin translation during production. “My presumption connected superheroes was precise stereotypical”, she says. “They are strong. They are pretty. They are perfect. And that’s however I grew up, that’s the thought I had. But coming into [Supergirl], I present person a wholly antithetic presumption connected superheroes. Kara is not cleanable astatine all, and I deliberation that truly shows, particularly the younger generation, that you tin beryllium yourself. Sometimes that tin marque you your ain hero. So now, I look astatine superheroes a batch differently.” 

The taste recalibration helps explicate wherefore David Corenswet’s Superman acquired an unexpectedly “punk-rock” estimation aft the merchandise of Gunn’s 2025 film, arsenic audiences seemed to clasp Clark Kent’s refusal to conscionable cynicism with cynicism arsenic a genuinely subversive enactment (though that speechmaking owed thing to Gunn’s ain sonic choices, including the peculiarly on-the-nose Swedish punk outfit Teddybears’ soon viral “Punkrocker”.

Milly is wholly convinced that Kara whitethorn person a stronger assertion to that title. Asked whether Supergirl embodies the tone adjacent much afloat than her Kryptonian cousin, she chuckles, “Yeah, definitely. I’m sorry, Clark, but I deliberation I bushed you connected this one.” After all, what could beryllium much punk than inheriting the astir recognisable awesome successful fabrication portion remaining fundamentally unconvinced by the mythology built astir it? Woman of Tomorrow has often been described arsenic a cosmic riff connected True Grit, and Kara often has the aerial of a reluctant feminist icon successful the mould of Ellen Ripley, with conscionable capable Joan Jett successful her DNA to suggest she doesn’t “give a damn ‘bout my atrocious reputation.” Though she whitethorn deterioration the aforesaid crest arsenic DC’s incorruptible American optimist, her’s is simply a communicative shaped by much lived accounts of wide decease and exile (and eden knows she’s miserable now).

Milly’s playlist during accumulation whitethorn besides explicate wherefore this iteration of Supergirl already feels a small scuffed astir the edges successful the champion imaginable way. She cites the Australian punk radical Amyl and the Sniffers, Irish post-punk sensations Fontaines D.C., and aged reliable Radiohead arsenic predominant companions during filming.

For those of america who watched her breakout crook arsenic the young Rhaenyra Targaryen chafe against prophecy, patriarchy, and succession successful HBO’s House of the Dragon, it feels fitting to witnesser that instinct for insubordination find a caller vas successful Kara — telephone it teenage kicks, if you will.

Supegirl hits theatres connected June 26