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Milly Alcock is embracing queer interpretations of Supergirl. At the world premiere of “Supergirl” on Monday night, the star explained why she believes Kara Zor-El has become such a meaningful character for LGBTQ+ fans.
“I’ve had a few people ask me about her because it’s Pride Month and all that, and I think that she’s a really great representation of what a modern woman can be,” Alcock told Variety at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. “She can be strong, she can be tough, she can be messy.”
Alcock made headlines earlier in the “Supergirl” press tour after telling a content creator she’s “honored” by queer readings of Kara and that her character “doesn’t live inside the binary of what we think a woman should be.” This portrayal marks a sharp departure from the more traditional Supergirl depicted in the 1984 film starring Helen Slater, which saw Kara develop a crush on a groundskeeper named Ethan and become entangled in a love triangle involving a magical love potion.
Alcock, with a sheepishly guilty grin, admits she hasn’t watched Slater’s take on “Supergirl.” In her recent Variety cover story, the actor revealed that while she spent two months training for the role, she largely avoided superhero movies altogether. She hasn’t seen Marvel’s “Black Widow” or “Captain Marvel” — or even DC’s “Wonder Woman.” “Which is probably not great,” Alcock said. “I should just lie!”
While Alcock says DC Studios co-CEO and “Superman” director James Gunn “definitely” helped expand her superhero movie knowledge, her favorite comic book film doesn’t come from the world DC or Marvel. Instead, she points to Pixar’s “The Incredibles.” “That film is so, so good,” she says. “Both of them, amazing!”
Beyond its direct connection to “Superman,” which stars David Corenswet as Kara’s Kryptonian cousin, “Supergirl” was designed to stand on its own. Director Craig Gillespie says he deliberately avoided looking to the 1984 “Supergirl” film or other legacy DC movies for inspiration.
“I didn’t [make those references], sort of out of fear of going down a road where I wouldn’t be as open as I could be creatively,” Gillespie explains. “So for a long time, I stuck with the script and just fed off of that. I wanted to create a world that came from character first.”
That doesn’t mean Gillespie ignored the comics entirely. While developing the visual language of “Supergirl,” the director says he frequently returned to Tom King’s acclaimed “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” (the original title of his movie), using its artwork as a creative touchstone.
Published in 2022, “Woman of Tomorrow” is widely regarded by fans as the definitive modern take on Kara Zor-El. The series effectively elevated the character beyond being viewed simply as Superman’s female counterpart, reimagining her as a more emotionally complex and world-weary hero still grappling with the trauma of Krypton’s destruction.
King, who is consulting on more than a dozen DC Studios projects, says adapting “Woman of Tomorrow” required “letting it go” and trusting the filmmakers to make “something beautiful” with his “particularly cool” take on Kara Zor-El.
“Supergirl is a particular kind of cool. An outsider. She’s a person who’s not immediately accepted by the world and carries some baggage,” King says. “I honestly stole it from my daughter, who has that particular coolness. Just to see that sort of coolness spread and people relate to it, it means the absolute world to me.”
