It has been confirmed that James Gunn's Supergirl will abandon one beloved mainstay from The CW's take on the character. After years of high-flying adventures in the hit Supergirl TV series, Kara Zor-El will make a return to the big screen later this year as part of Gunn's ongoing interconnected DCU. This new iteration of the beloved hero will be played by House of the Dragon's Milly Alcock as opposed to TV's Melissa Benoist.
Thus far, this new version of the Girl of Steel looks and feels significantly different from The CW's Supergirl, being something of a loose cannon searching for her identity when the upcoming film picks up. That is not the only significant difference between the former Arrowverse version of the hero and her forthcoming DCU take.
With the release of the first Supergirl movie trailer, it was confirmed that the 2026 DC epic will sever any connection to CatCo, a cornerstone of the CW's Supergirl TV series.
It has been confirmed that Supergirl (2026) will be a more fantastical sci-fi adventure than the now-defunct TV show. Its super-powered narrative will seemingly see Kara exclusively exploring the stars, as she helps the young alien Ruthye get revenge for the death of her father.
CatCo (also known as CatCo Worldwide Media) was the Earth-based workplace where Kara was employed in the Supergirl TV series, with her career progressing through the show's six seasons. Founded by Cat Grant in the Arrowverse, CatCo will have no presence in the Supergirl movie.
The CW Supergirl was devoid of any fantastical elements, but it was ultimately a more grounded take on the character, setting her against a very Earthly backdrop rather than the vast expanse of the cosmos.
DC Studios' Supergirl comes to theaters on June 26. The new film marks the second big-screen adventure for James Gunn's new DCU, following up on the events of 2025's Superman. Directed by I, Tonya's Craig Gillespie, Supergirl will center on its titular metahuman as she embarks on a potentially self-destructive quest for revenge after crossing paths with a young alien girl looking for her father's killer.
Will Supergirl Ever Come Back Down to Earth?
At least to start, the DCU's Supergirl will be a cosmic hero when she comes to the big screen. Fans have been given teases of the character's work on Earth, appearing in a drunken cameo in Superman and a shadowy pop-in in Peacemaker Season 2, but when Kara Zor-El gets her first proper big-screen adventure in the new universe, it will be (well) quite universal.
While Superman established what DC Studios' take on a DC Comics Earth looks like, Supergirl will lay the foundation for the franchise's version of space. That does not mean that Milly Alcock's Girl of Steel will be cosmos-bound for the entirety of her DCU tenure, however.
One can assume that eventually she will come back down to Earth and resemble something a little closer to Melissa Benoist's iconic Kryptonian. Whether that means CatCo will return remains to be seen, though.
CatCo was an original creation made for the CW Supergirl series. So, it would be surprising if the fictional media brand were to return in any meaningful way.
However, there is plenty of precedent of the Supergirl character working in media (just like her Kryptonian cousin, Kal), so if Alcock's version of the DC hero were to become a journalist in some form in the DCU, it would not be all that surprising.
