Introducing the Woman of Tomorrow at the ‘Supergirl’ Trailer Press Conference

James Gunn’s vision for the DCU is on fire, with Superman debuting to incredible acclaim and terrific box office grosses,and Peacemaker receiving universal acclaim for its second season this year. Now he and director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) are coming together to adapt Tom King’s acclaimed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow run into next year’s highly anticipated Supergirl!

Debuting in the final scenes of last year’s Superman, Milly Alcock’s version of Kara Zor-El will be extraordinarily different from what we’ve seen in previous media iterations. If you’ve read the Woman of Tomorrow graphic novel, you’ll see that she’s extraordinarily more complex, which makes sense given the trauma she’s endured watching her piece of Krypton slowly wither and die in a way her cousin Kal-El could never have imagined. As such some might be surprised to find a hard drinking, hard partying version of Kara on the big screen. However, they’ll soon find it’s a coping mechanism and a way to silence the hardships that replay in her memories over and over.

It makes for a much more human version of the character, and a remarkably more relatable interpretation than we’ve been treated to in former media incarnations. That was the point Gunn, Gillespie, screenwriter Ana Nogueira, and Alcock wanted to make sure to drive across in their forthcoming release. And we were fortunate enough to attend a recent press conference with Gunn, Gillespie, and Alcock for the debut of the trailer for next summer’s tentpole release! Take a look at what they had to say here:

At the conference, Gunn was asking a prepared set of questions for various journalists worldwide. The first question was actually specifically for Gunn: “Why Supergirl? Why now? Why Craig? Why Millie?”

Gunn replied, “The reasons are various, but the main one is when Ana Nogueira wrote the Woman of Tomorrow script, it was fantastic. And at DC Studios, we care most about the writing. And so we just instantly greenlit the movie. Now it was something that I was very interested in making before we even took over DC Studios. I remember when the graphic novel first came out, when Peter and I were kind of talking about taking over DC but hadn’t decided yet, I called Peter, and I said, ‘Have you seen this book by Tom King? Woman of Tomorrow?’ Told him how great it was. What an interesting take it was on Supergirl. And I said, ‘You know who would be great?… That girl from House of the Dragon. I think she would be great!’ Because it’s sort of a rock-and-roll Supergirl. But then Millie, of course, had auditioned with hundreds of other people, and she got the role. And Craig is one of my favorite directors. Has been for a long time. He directed I,Tonya, which was my favorite movie from [2017], but also many other movies that I enjoyed. And so when he was threw his hat in the ring to direct this film, we were more than interested, and now here we are.”

Gillespe added, “When I heard that James and Peter were taking over DC, I was very interested, because I love James’s work. I love the tone. I feel a kingship there with a sensibility of what I like to do and what James has done, and I’ve always really admired that. And the idea that they were going to take over the studio felt like a huge opportunity. And then the script came along, and Ana’s script was so good, and the tone of it. It was the first time I’d actually read a superhero script. For me, I could understand the tone and what to do with it, and I was all in… Then, thirdly, Millie had already been cast. And I did my homework on Millie, and I watched the Australian television she’s done. I was already familiar with House of the Dragon, and I couldn’t be more excited about her as a lead… I mean that combination — that script with Millie, with you guys overseeing it… the script goes to some very dark and hard places for the character. And I just felt like you guys would double down on that. Millie, tonally, was perfect for it. And she’s got this vulnerability and this humor and this accessibility, but this strength and the subject nature that’s built into her DNA that was perfect. So the whole combination, I just couldn’t wait to get in there and make my case.”

Alcock was then asked to describe her interpretation of Supergirl, especially in comparison to Superman. “Supergirl, compared to Superman, has had a completely different upbringing. She was brought up on a planet that was dying. Everyone that she’s ever known and loved is dead. So that creates a very cynical, tough [character]. She doesn’t trust a lot of people. She’s got a wall up. A very big wall up. And she’s very skeptical of people. And Clark is kind of the opposite of that. He’s very overtly trusting. He expects the good in people. He’s had a very sheltered life. And he’s also pretending. Kara never pretends. If she’s not feeling well, she will let you know. She doesn’t have a facade, which is really refreshing, actually, to play.”

She was then asked what it was like to put on the costume for the first time, and what it was like to step on the set of Supergirl. Alcock clarified that those were two distinct times, given she first put on the costume while filming Gunn’s Superman. “When I put the suit on for the first time, I was on [James’s] movie, and our lovely producer looked at me, and she just started crying. She did a silent sob. And it was really sweet, because at that moment, I was like, ‘Okay, I have to really show up for these people. Not only for myself, but for all of the people who have spent years of their life trying to get this film up and made, and what it will mean to other young girls and other young women coming to see this movie. Because I think she’s so flawed, and I think we really need a flawed hero.”

She continued discussing her first time on set. “Stepping onto the set of Supergirl, oh, my God!… I was in the suit, and I was speaking a different language. That day was really hard. It was like two degrees. We jumped right in the deep end. Yeah. That was hard.”

Gillespe was asked what it was that Alcock brought to the role that he loved. “She’s a rebellious spirit. And this character’s got a lot of armor. And she uses her humor and her cynicism to protect herself. And there’s a real punk quality to it, and Millie just embraced all of it. It’s like… it’s so effortless for her to dive into that role and do it with certain sense of compassion underneath. But you can feel the vulnerability, you can feel the fractures, and what she’s struggling with. But she still has a toughness to it, and it’s a tricky dance. It’s totally a very tricky thing to find an actor that can do that dance of being in and out of the humor, but being grounded and feeling like it’s coming from an emotional place. And she does that beautifully.”

Alcock was asked what part of Kara’s inner-world resonated with her the most, and how she channeled that into a performance that feels powerful without losing emotional vulnerability. She replied, saying, “Kara doesn’t want to be a hero. And I think that there’s a similarity between my own personal experience being an actor, and being able to empathize with having to step up to a certain role. And a certain kind of external expectation because you feel like you don’t deserve to. And I think that I could resonate with that. She has to be the hero of her own story. And I think that a lot of us struggle to do that and to feel worthy of that.”

Gillespe was asked what attracted him most to King’s Woman of Tomorrow storyline, and its version of Kara as the next strong female lead in a story that blends vengeance, hope and cosmic scale. He stated, “It was Tom King’s novel, but secondarily. It was initially Ana’s script. Her adaptation of that was just so beautifully done. I read the first two scenes of the film, and the extremes of what is happening in those first two scenes, and it encompasses the whole movie. And I was in immediately! And coming from the flagpole of being under James and Peter’s purview there, I knew that they would go for it. James doesn’t shy away from stuff. And the script really went to some hard and difficult places for the character, for the audience, and really has a lot of soul-searching involved. And surprises you with the dark places that it ends up landing in. And I was very excited that we wouldn’t have to shy away from that, and that we could lean into it, both from a performance standpoint, character standpoint, and the ambiguity of where the character is in her life. [I knew] that you guys would be incredibly supportive with that, and that’s exciting to see that come out.”

Alcock was asked about the research involved with portraying her version of Kara. “I leaned a lot on Tom King’s book, because it felt like that was the closest version to this character that we were telling. So I kind of just read that book a lot. And I did a lot of physical training.” She was additionally asked what she felt her version of the character meant to a new generation of women who love superheroes. “I think that what Supergirl represents for young women, especially is that you don’t have to be perfect in order to come to some sort of internal self resolution. I think that we’re kind of thrust upon this narrative, especially women, that you have to be perfect in every aspect of of your life. And I think Kara is someone who so beautifully leans into her flaws. And I think that’s really special.”

Gunn contributed to the answer as well. “I agree with you. That’s really what spoke to me, and both in the book and on the script. A lot of times, for some reason, you know, our female superhero leads are just so much more perfect than our male [heroes]… Tony Stark and Star Lord are such messes and yet that isn’t always the same thing for our female superhero leads. And seeing somebody who was just so imperfect and such a mess, but just really a beautiful soul… that was what excited me.”

A question came up for Gillespe about what defines Kara as a unique hero. “It’s the fact that she’s an anti hero…She doesn’t want the role [of a hero]. She’s actually in a very hard way, running away from it and in her own space. And she gets dragged very reluctantly into the world of having to be a superhero. The way she handles that, the way that she deals with it, and the way that she finds herself through that story is really fascinating. And it’s incomplete, which I love as well.”

He was also asked about the action and stunt work in the film. “It was amazing. And we had about six or seven weeks. It was just all stunts, and [Millie] persevered incredibly. It was a lot to do. In fact, my stunt coordinator came over and said, ‘We’re doing all of this cable work. We have eight miles of cable right now on the stage with all the ratcheting… I’ve never had that much cabling.’ So there was a lot going on, but it was really exciting in a way, because in each case, everything was always a little different, whether she had full power, or whether she had no power (if she’s on a red planet)… And also emotionally, where she is in the story dictated a lot of how these fight sequences go. So if she’s in a very angry place, it’s going to be a much more… messy, aggressive camera work. If she’s feeling in the zone, the camera work gets more fluid and goes through that. So trying to figure out where we are in the story, and how that reinforces her emotionally with the fight sequences was really fun.”

The group was asked how it was deciding what to keep strictly from the graphic novel versus what to adapt to the screen. Gillespe started stating, “I very deliberately read Ana’s script before I read the comic, because I wanted to see how that would hold up. And I didn’t know anything about the Supergirl lore. So I was kind of a perfect audience for it, because I had so many questions that I could ask. But there was a lot that. She did an amazing job of working the [graphic novel’s] narrative. And so it was quite clear to me what was going on. And I know we keep mentioning the Tom King book, but she really took it to a different place as well. So for everybody thumbing through that Tom King novel right now… know it’s different.”

Gunn accredited the graphic novel’s artist as well. “It’s also fair to point out [Bilquis Evely], who did all the art for the Tom King book, which is also a big inspiration and is equally as important… I don’t mean to just say Tom King all the time. “

Gillespe was asked how his version of Supergirl will differ from all other previous iterations of the character in television and film. “It’s a very flawed character as a superhero. That’s what did it for me when I got the script and what, because I wasn’t actively hunting to do a superhero film, I was very excited about. Also the idea that James and Peter taken over DC, because of James’s work and the tone that he manages to do, which has always excited me. But I’ve found in my work, there’s been this consistency of outsiders as leads that I’m attracted to, and underdogs. And Supergirl is all of that, and she doesn’t want to take on the role [of a hero]. She’s got a lot of demons that she’s dealing with. So from a character standpoint, I really related to it, and I felt like I could do a lot with that. And with Millie in the role, because I’ve seen it… she’s got such a brilliant range in terms of tone, between humor and drama. I looked at all her Australian work, and it was wonderful to see… seeing her and her work… that she can do everything. I knew this was gonna be amazing.”

The group was asked how Supergirl might surprise fans of Superman. “It’s a completely different movie. It’s completely different tonally,” stated Alcock.

Gillespe added, “We’re approaching this… like its own graphic novel. You get to put your stamp on it, and you know your style and your vision. And that was incredibly exciting. And I’m very grateful for that. And so, it was very necessary for the tone of the script. They are so different in tone, and to be able to really lean into it and embrace it. And plus,the whole movie takes place in outer space. The whole movie. So it’s a very different world to start with. We had a completely blank slate… We’re creating a whole new set piece.”

Gunn also chimed in, “The characters are also so different. Supergirl is so different from Superman. You have this base that’s so separate.”

Gillespe was asked about Krypto’s return and if he’ll be a better dog this time. “You’ll see pretty quickly he’s returning. I don’t think he knows what good is. I think he just exists in his own headspace.”

Given his experience with the character, Gunn chimed in, “He’s not a good dog. He’s a terrible dog. Continues to be a terrible dog. The difference is, Kara loves this terrible dog. He gets on Clark’s nerves so but, you know, maybe he’ll get better.”

Gillespe was asked the final question, which was what excited him most about the challenges of doing a superhero movie and bringing Kara to life. “I sort of take that out of the equation. So it’s just story and working to tell the best, interesting version of this journey. And with Millie’s performance and what she gets to work with and be able to see — this incredibly poor character and her struggle with owning this role — that was the most exciting part of it.”

You can check out the trailer for Supergirl below. As you can see it’s got a completely awesome, irreverent, hard rock look and feel to it. From the opening notes of Blondie’s “Call Me,” we know we’re going to be witnessing a character study of a deeply flawed and traumatized individual, trying to just survive in the world. Once more, Gunn and his filmmakers, like Gillespe, as well as actors like Alcock, are trying their hardest to make sure we see the humanity in these characters. Just because they have the powers of gods, doesn’t make them gods. And Kara’s story, her baggage, and how she copes will be one of the most relatable journeys we’re in for next year!