Supergirl's movie title change may have been for a good reason. The 2026 DC blockbuster, previously titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, was renamed simply Supergirl in June of this year. DC Studios boss James Gunn did not provide any specific reasons for the title change, but considering the context of recent DCU developments, it has begun to make a bit more sense.
Supergirl's title change may have something to do with DC's recently revealed 2027 Superman sequel above all else. That film, which is set to debut in theaters on July 9, 2027, has been dubbed Man of Tomorrow, taking its name from the moniker often associated with the iconic Kryptonian hero (read more about the Man of Tomorrow title here).
Had Supergirl kept its original title, DC Studios would have both Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Superman: Man of Tomorrow being released just over 13 months apart.
This could have been confusing for general audiences, as the two names are strikingly similar to one another. So, the Woman of Tomorrow may have been dropped to make way for the 2027 Superman sequel to use that "(BLANK) of Tomorrow" branding.
This year's Superman underwent a similar change, dropping its Legacy subtitle deep into development. With Supergirl doing the same, this could also be part of an overall effort to simplify branding across the newly launched DCU, with the first movies for heroes simply featuring the hero's name, leaving the subtitles for potential sequels.
Gunn gave the closest thing to a concrete reason behind these changes in an interview with Rolling Stone in June 2025, in which he posited that "I’m sick of the superhero title, colon, other-name thing:"
"One of the things I brought up was, it was called Superman: Legacy. Even though I was the one that gave it that title, I just wasn’t sure. First of all, I’m sick of the superhero title, colon, other-name thing. And then also it seemed to be looking back when we’re looking forward, even though it does have to do with legacy in the movie itself. And everybody was like, 'Oh, yeah, no, change it.'"
Supergirl's former Woman of Tomorrow name was primarily attributed to the film being an adaptation of Tom King's beloved comic story of the same name. Just because the subtitle will not be a part of the movie does not make it any less connected to the Woman of Tomorrow story.
Supergirl soars into theaters on June 26, 2026. The second-ever DCU film will follow Milly Alcock's Kara Zor-El (as introduced in James Gunn's Superman), the super-powered cousin of David Corenswet's Man of Steel, as she goes on a self-destructive quest for revenge across the cosmos.
Alcock leads the film, with the likes of Jason Momoa, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, and David Krumholtz.
Is Supergirl a Sign of DC Studios' Changing Strategy?
Fans have now seen two separate DC Studios projects get a significant name change pre-release, potentially hinting at a change in strategy within James Gunn's DC Studios.
When Gunn announced his DCU slate nearly three years ago, names like Superman: Legacy, Woman of Tomorrow, and The Brave and the Bold dominated the tentpole titles, as opposed to being called Superman, Supergirl, or Batman.
At least two of those three projects were, of course, changed during development. This could indicate that Gunn is actively altering how the DCU operates.
Perhaps he (and the powers that be at Warner Bros.) realized that simplicity is best when launching a new franchise—a simple, single-named title gives this an air of a new beginning.
It worked for Superman, so we will have to see if it works for next year's Supergirl as well.
Then, as sequels to Superman, and perhaps eventually Supergirl, are announced, they can start incorporating colons and flashy subtitles, like Gunn is doing with Superman: Man of Tomorrow.
