Superman's next on-screen appearance won't be in Supergirl after all. James Gunn's newly established DCU kicked off theatrically with Superman in 2025, introducing Milly Alcock's Supergirl alongside David Corenswet's Clark Kent. While Supergirl is set to hit theaters on June 26 with Superman returning in a limited role alongside her ahead of 2027's Man of Tomorrow, DC fans will actually be seeing the iconic hero somewhere else first.
With My Adventures With Superman Season 3 having just received its release date, it's now clear that Superman's next on-screen appearance won't be in Supergirl after all.
The animated series is set to premiere on Adult Swim on Saturday, June 13, at midnight ET, with a streaming release on HBO Max the following day, arriving less than two weeks before Supergirl opens in theaters on June 26.
Of course, it's worth noting that these are two entirely different versions of the character, as My Adventures With Superman features its own animated Man of Steel, voiced by Jack Quaid, separate from David Corenswet's DCU counterpart.
DC Studios has already shared the first look at Corenswet in Supergirl. In its latest trailer, it opens with a shot of Supergirl's ship where Kara is seen watching a video message from Clark Kent on her TV screen.
In the clip, a concerned Clark reaches out to his cousin, asking her when she plans on returning to Earth, "I'm just worried that you're not gonna find your stride:"
"Hey, I was just touching base to see when you think you might be coming back. You know, I'm just worried that you're not gonna find your stride here if you keep going off-world all the time, Kara.
I'm worried you're not gonna find your people."
Beyond that brief glimpse, Alcock herself has shed more light on just how significant Superman's role in the film will be. At a press conference ahead of the Supergirl trailer's debut, Alcock was asked about the toughest sequence she filmed, and her answer inadvertently confirmed a major scene with Corenswet.
"It was with Superman," Alcock revealed, adding that the entire scene was performed in Kryptonian, and that she wasn't even in her suit for it:
"Yeah, that day was really hard, it was, like, 2 degrees. He jumped right in the deep end. Yeah, that was a hard day. The whole scene was in Kryptonian. The whole scene was, yeah... Yeah, Kryptonian."
That detail carries some major implications. An out-of-costume Kara speaking only Kryptonian to Clark strongly suggests the scene is a flashback, most likely depicting the very first time the two cousins met, shortly after Kara's arrival on Earth, before she could speak English.
Unlike Clark, who was raised on Earth from infancy, Kara would have landed knowing only Kryptonian, making communication with her cousin a challenge from the start.
The Supergirl trailer further supports this, as every scene showing Kara without her suit appears tied to Krypton's fall, and it's confirmed that audiences will see the destruction of Krypton in this movie.
Putting the parts and pieces together, it seems like Corenswet's Superman may not be there to help fight Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) in the present time, but they will chat over video chat, and then we will appear later, but in a flashback sequence.
Sequentially, it's well understood that Supergirl takes place after Superman, as Kara has retrieved her dog Kryto, but interestingly, Clayface will actually be the first chronological movie in the DCU.
Superman's Overarching DCU Role
James Gunn's fingerprints have been all over the DCU's earliest projects, which is to be expected as the judge, jury, and executioner of this new cinematic universe.
He wrote and directed Superman, wrote Creature Commandos, and wrote and directed Peacemaker Season 2. Central to that vision is Superman himself, who appeared in a vision in Creature Commandos, headlined his own film, and is now set to play a meaningful role in Supergirl.
In fact, three of the first four DCU theatrical releases will feature Superman directly and be tied deeply to his lineage, making it clear to audiences just how foundational the character is to what Gunn is building.
This is no accident, as the major throughline of the DCU's first chapter, Gods and Monsters, is shaping up to be the Superman Saga, which will likely become a full trilogy.
With Man of Tomorrow already set for 2027 and another sequel presumably following around 2029, Corenswet's Superman isn't just a piece of the DCU... he's holding in atop his broad shoulders.
