The DC Universe got off to a great start on the big screen in 2025 with Superman. Now, the Man of Steel’s cousin is looking to steal the spotlight with Supergirl, which is dropping amid the 2026 movie schedule. Based on the first Supergirl trailer, the movie is going to be full of plenty of intergalactic action. There's also some rock ‘n’ roll, which certainly makes it look like James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, which he mentioned while discussing the latest DCU film.
James Gunn isn’t directing Supergirl, but it’s hard not to get a serious Guardians of the Galaxy vibe from the DCU flick. Both movies have a sci-fi and rock aesthetic that makes one feel like Kara Zor-El and Star-Lord would probably get along quite well. Appearing on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, Gunn himself acknowledged the connection when talking about the new film. He said…
I think it’s a space fantasy, which is like ‘Guardians’ in a way, but it’s based on the Tom King book, but it doesn’t follow it religiously, but it has a lot of the core of that there.
The new movie was originally going under the title Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, because it was based on the comic story of the same name. The book follows a somewhat directionless Kara when she crosses paths with a young girl looking for revenge after her father's death at the hands of a villain called Krem of the Yellow Hills. While the movie had its title shortened to simply Supergirl, possibly to prevent confusion with the already in development Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, the film still takes significant inspiration from the comic.
What makes this interesting is the fact that Supergirl won’t follow Woman of Tomorrow "religiously." While fans of the book might end up disappointed by changes, it also means that nobody is going to know exactly how the story will go, even if they’re familiar with the source material. I'd argue that sometimes films can be improved by not following source material to the letter.
While Supergirl is directed by Craig Gillespie, who has his own history of making movies with powerful leading ladies and a punk rock aesthetic, like Disney’s live-action Cruella, the Guardians of the Galaxy similarities are hard to overlook. Some of the promotional images have even shown Milly Alcock’s title character sporting a classic Walkman that looks identical to the one Chris Pratt used to sport in those Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
Honestly, the more like Guardians that Supergirl is, the more I’m interested. All three of those films are among my personal favorites in the MCU. While the core element that made that trilogy great (the relationship of the team) certainly won’t be present in this DCU flick, I’ll take what I can get.
The vibe of Supergirl certainly has me on board, I’m looking forward to seeing it when it arrives in theaters on June 26. In the meantime, stream Superman and other DCU content using an HBO Max subscription.
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